The Right Mistake
by AssassinedAngel
Summary: Five years after moving out with Kyo, Tohru is not happy, and one night, she makes a mistake that shocks everyone. Seemingly everyone is condemning her for it, but is it still a mistake if it makes you happy?
1. To Tempt

**I have been debating whether I should upload this now or wait until I finish writing it since I only have random chapters of it written, but since it's the end of the world, I figured might as well! c:  
**

**I do not own Fruits Basket.  
**

**Yuki**

It was raining.

I noticed when I leaned back in my chair, away from the desk covered with scattered paper, to stretch my arms with a yawn. As I slouched back into my chair, I took off my glasses and rubbed my eyes. It was late, past midnight, but I still had a lot of leftover paperwork to finish. I guess I should have expected to have a lot of nights like this one after I received that promotion, but I doubt anyone enjoys staying up, reviewing company statistics and financial reports, when there is a comfortable bed and warm covers just up the stairs.

Glancing back at the stack of papers in front of me, I sighed and stood up to refill my empty coffee mug. As I pour the rest of the coffee from the pot into my cup, I pause to thank whoever invented the wonder of a machine that brewed coffee for me with a press of the button. I'm not quite sure where I'd be without this machine. Probably passed out under the couch in the lobby of the office building. I almost smiled to myself as I started back to the living room to tackle the next stack when the doorbell rang.

I will admit that I stared at the door with a rather dumbfounded expression for a minute before I even started over to it, wondering who could possibly be at my door at this hour. Without seeming too pitiful, I must confess that I don't receive many visitors, especially not this late. Even Machi, my girlfriend of five years, never stayed this late, and it couldn't even be her; she was gone for the weekend, visiting Kakeru, my self-appointed best friend and her stepbrother. More confused than cautious, I slowly made my way over to the door.

I found my real best friend, Tohru Honda, standing on my porch, head lowered and bangs dripping as they clung to her face. My utter shock might not make too much sense unless you know I've been in love with her for the past seven and a half years and that she has been dating my cousin and worst enemy for the past five, so I've been avoiding her for years. This is the first time I've seen her in five months, even though she lives barely twenty minutes away.

"Honda-san?"

It was only then did she look up, and it was hard to tell, but I knew it wasn't just the rain that made her face wet. Her eyes were red-rimmed and darkened with grief. I knew only one person could be responsible. My hands shook and my fingers curled and dug my fingernails into my palms.

"Can I come in, Yuki-kun?"

Her voice was weak and tired. She sounded afraid to speak. I was afraid if I spoke, she'd hear the fury in my voice, so I just nodded. Hesitantly, she stepped in, slowly looked around, and almost stepped out again, but I caught her arm. She peered up at me guiltily after looking down at the puddle beneath her feet. I just gave her a smile and helped her out of her thin jacket and hung it on the coat rack nearby. She slipped off the boots she was wearing but didn't move from the doorway until I tugged her inside. Her head hung as she diligently followed me into the kitchen.

"How about I make us a pot of tea?"

She nodded, then added, "I'm sorry, Yuki-kun, for coming so late. Am I disturbing you? I can leave if you're busy. I'm sure you need to sleep soon, don't you?"

"Don't worry, Honda-san. I wasn't doing much. I have plenty of time."

She didn't look convinced. "Well, let me at least help with the tea."

She took the kettle I had taken out of the cupboard and began filling it with water as I rummaged around other cabinets for tealeaves. As soon as I found them, she took them from me.

Soon enough, we were seated in the leaving room with two cups of tea. She faced the window as she sipped her tea, watching the heavy drops of rain pelt my windows.

"What happened, Honda-san?" I gently asked her.

She didn't turn from the window but took a deep breath.

"Kyo-kun and I had a big fight."

She stopped talking. I had to wait a few minutes before she turned back towards me, and tears glistened from her cheeks as she struggled in vain to keep them from falling.

"H-He got so mad when I accidentally forgot to take the leeks out of his dish. He started yelling, and didn't stop when I kept apologizing. He t-threw the dishes against the wall even though I had already waited hours for him to come home to eat a late dinner. I-I just left."

"Bastard," I muttered.

"I know it's not his fault, Yuki-kun. Well, not entirely. He just works really hard and is so tired when he gets home. And he doesn't mean it. But it's just been happening more and more."

It was a struggle to keep my grip on my cup light enough to keep the ceramic from shattering. She didn't seem to notice. I doubted she could make out my face through those tears pooling out of her eyes anyways. Following the downward trek of those tears, I saw something I don't think she meant me to. With her hands to her face, her sweater bunched up, and I spotted a purple stain peeking out at me.

I caught her hands and lowered them from her face. I used my other hand to sweep aside her long hair. Shaking, I tentatively slipped two fingers under the collar of her sweater, carefully pushing aside the pink fabric. If I hadn't been holding her sweater with one hand and her hands with the other, I'm sure I would have punched something. There was a large bruise, in the deepest shade of purple, spanning her collar bone. Her confusion at my actions seemed to have stopped her tears at least. Then she realized what I was looking at and practically shoved me away. She hurriedly readjusted her top, holding it over the bruise.

"Did he hit you?" I seethed in a whisper, desperately trying to hide the ire from my voice.

"N-No! It wasn't like that, Yuki-kun! It was an accident! He wasn't trying to hit me. I-It just bounced off the wall, and I was standing too close- Yuki-kun, please. Don't be angry at him," she pled, slipping her hands out of mine and caressing the sides of my face, forcing me to look at her.

"Honda-san?"

"I don't know why everything is like this now, Yuki-kun. Kyo-kun was never like this when we first moved away. I know Kyo-kun is not like Yuki-kun, and Kyo-kun just gets mad a little easier and faster, but he doesn't mean anything by it! He doesn't! He loves me! And we were so happy at first! Why aren't we happy anymore?! We were so happy… And now he just seems angry."

I copied her, holding her face in my hands. I had only intended to brush the lingering tears from her face, but after my thumbs slid under her eyes, I couldn't seem to move away. Actually, I scooted closer to her.

"Did I do something wrong, Yuki-kun? Why is everything wrong now?"

"No, Honda-san. Honda-san is perfect. It's the stupid cat's fault if he doesn't treasure what he's so lucky to have."

She stared at me with those large brown eyes, and I can't say for sure who moved first, but I knew our faces were inching nearer. Her eyes were fluttering closed, and she left her mouth hanging open half a centimeter. I don't know how that progressed to carrying her upstairs and tugging off her sweater or even how long it took to progress to this.

It passed as a fervor of frenzied kisses, heated pants, and tangled limbs.

I didn't really process what I just did or with whom I did it until she was slumbering, curled up against me with her head burrowed between my chest and shoulder, her hair splayed across me, and her arms wrapped snuggly around my waist. I stared at her, watching her breathe heavily in her sleep. She looked beautiful with her disheveled hair, clad in nothing but my thin sheets, smiling faintly as she dreamed. I'd be lying if I tried to say this isn't what I had yearned for, dreamed of for so long. To find myself gazing down at her large brown eyes as she gasped for breath and whispered to me, "I love you, Yuki-kun. I love you. I love you so much."

It was more than I ever expected. More than I ever deserved.

"I love you too, Tohru. I always have," I had told her at the time before I leant down and kissed her.

Everything had seemed perfect then.

Now I wasn't so sure. I couldn't help wondering if she meant what she said or if I had just taken advantage of the girl I claimed to love more than anything else. I knew I should feel guilty about that. I should feel guilty about betraying Machi, my supposed girlfriend, and Kyo, my cousin, but I couldn't quite muster up those negative emotions with the girl I love finally in my arms. I kept running my fingers through those long, tangled locks of silky mahogany hair.

I couldn't shake the feeling that this was just a fleeting dream to be cherished before it ended.

At some point, I fell asleep because the next thing I knew I was squinting my eyes against the bright shafts of light streaming in through the window curtains. I groaned and started to get up to close those cursed fluttering things, but I couldn't get out of bed. Groggily, I looked beside me to see what restrained me. I nearly jumped out of bed when I saw my arm trapped in Tohru's hold, but again, she restrained me from moving very far. For such a gentle-looking girl, she had a tight hold, even though she was still asleep. Slowly, my heart calmed as I stared at her and reached forward to brush stray locks from her face with my free hand.

Then my heart began pounding again as I heard a quick succession of stomps racing up the stairs and my bedroom door was thrust open.

"Yuuuuuuuuuuuuuki! I hope you don't mind! I let myself in! You left your door unlocked, and I really need to talk to you because Kagura-chan has been trying to call you all night, but you wouldn't pick up. She needs to know if she can- Oh!"

There stood Momiji Sohma, my younger cousin, blabbering with a grin across his face until he noticed I wasn't alone. Then his smile grew almost mischievously until Tohru began to stir. She sat up, rubbing her eyes and allowing Momiji a good look at her face.

"Yuki-kun, what's happening?" she murmured.

Momiji's smile dropped off his face immediately. He stared in shock, his large eyes even larger than usual. I must have been staring at him, because Tohru quickly turned her gaze from me to him, and then she stared too. She pulled my sheets to cover herself a little more securely. She seemed nervous, sitting there and switching her gaze from Momiji back to me. I think she started to scoot away from me. I didn't dare look at her, but I felt the mattress shift. I'm sure she was looking at the wall with an expression of guilt, regret, and shame, not that I blame her. Worse emotions probably contorted my face.

Momiji regained his composure first. He turned his face towards the ground, refusing to look at either of us. Instead, he took a few steps out until he stood outside of the room and was barely in sight anymore.

"I'm sorry for barging in. I'll just leave you a note in the kitchen, okay?"

He didn't wait for a reply, and though I could hardly see him, I could hear his steps thundering away, so I knew he ran. Then the front door slammed. It grew eerily quiet. I had to count to a hundred before I dared to look at Tohru, and I hated myself for only being able to think about how beautiful she looked for a minute. She had her back to me with her long hair spilled over her shoulders as she used both hands to hold the sheet around herself. I couldn't bring myself to look at her face as I stood up and pulled some clothes on.

"I'll give you some privacy," I called over my shoulder as I started out of the room.

She turned towards me as she nodded in response, and I could tell she was waiting for me to say something else. Expecting me to do something else, but for the life of me, I couldn't figure out what she was begging of me. It may have been my imagination, but she looked disappointed when I uncomfortably stepped out without saying anything more.

**I consider this impure Yukiru because it's a little darker, I guess, and because you don't have to interpret their love as genuine (but I do!). I'll try my best to update weekly/biweekly, but it shouldn't matter too much since the plot is predictable at best (Especially if you've read my other stories), so there aren't going to be any shocking revelations or cliffhangers that you'll be antsy about. I'll even tell you how it ends- with a punch. c; Literally. This will be more of a character study with every chapter in the perspective of a different living Fruits Basket character and a ginormous rant on the implausibility of Kyoru (Argue with me all you want about that! I love to argue c:). I also apologize for how Kyo is portrayed in this chapter, but what do you expect? It's Yuki's chapter. I promise he is portrayed better in other chapters! Enjoy? **


	2. To Covet

**Momiji**

You'd think I'd be happy. Excited even. I just saw the girl I loved naked. Well, she was a woman now- almost twenty four anyways- and not exactly naked since she held the bed sheet carefully against herself, but naked, nevertheless. Perhaps you'd understand my lack of enthusiasm when I tell you I found her like that in another guy's bed, and that guy wasn't even her boyfriend.

I didn't notice her at first. She had huddled herself so closely against him that I couldn't easily differentiate the mass under the covers as two people. Then I noticed three legs peeking out from under the blanket, and then I saw the strands of dark chestnut hair spilled over his pillow. And then I looked at him again and realized he had no shirt on. At first, I smirked at him and only five seconds separated him and the teasing jokes bubbling up my throat, but in those few seconds, she sat up, rubbing her eyes and saying his name.

I recognized her face between the swipes of her fist, and at once, I seemed to understand everything and nothing at all.

I fell into a pool of numbness.

I fell into a pit of oblivion.

I fell into an abyss of agony.

That was the woman I loved. Naked. In my cousin's bed. Having just awoken and having just pried herself from his side. Blushing as she turned away from me and as she pulled the thin sheet tighter around her body. She was embarrassed to be seen like this. I wish I saw more shame in her expression. I couldn't tell if the bit I saw in her eyes before she turned to face the wall was due to their actions or just because I happened to catch them.

This can't be my Tohru. She would never cheat. She would never hurt someone like this. She would never willingly do this!

What have my cousins done to her?

I admit that I've known she hasn't been happy for a while. I knew she had been crying over Kyo's thoughtless actions for the past two years. I knew she was lonely. So I should have expected her to break soon. I should have seen it coming, but I never thought it would end up like this. I've been trying to convince her to break up with Kyo for a while now, and I've been trying to get her to notice that I loved her too, but when I tried to kiss her that one time, she recoiled and told me she was with Kyo. That was two weeks ago, and now, I found her in another guy's bed. Another guy she has only seen about three times in the past five years. Another guy that hadn't even come to comfort her once while she cried over Kyo. Another guy that was dating another girl.

I think I am being harsh, but that's because it's not fair. In his own way, Yuki was trying to cope with her decision just like I was. And perhaps his method was more honorable than mine, until last night anyways. While I was trying to steal Tohru away from Kyo right in front of his face, Yuki was trying to move on with another girl and let Tohru find her happiness. In my defense, I had told Kyo I would take Tohru away if he didn't treat her right, and I guess in Yuki's, he had always thought Kyo could make Tohru happier than he ever could.

But it's not fair. He doesn't even have to try and Tohru runs to him. He doesn't even have to do anything or even see her for months, yet she still knows she can go to him when she can't take it anymore. I wish she'd turn to me for once, but the truth is, it's always me trying to force her to confide in me. She has never looked at me like she looks at Kyo or Yuki. I'm just a little brother to her. I'm just a little kid to her, not a potential lover, regardless of how much I've matured. I'm only a year younger than Yuki and Kyo. Not even twelve whole months, and yet it seems to make the biggest difference to her. I'm just little Momiji.

It has always been between Yuki and Kyo. As soon as she realized it wouldn't work out with Kyo, she turned to Yuki, even though he's not available and I am. Even though I'd treat her just as well as he would. She won't even spare me a kiss, yet she jumped into bed with him. And I hate Yuki almost as much as I hate Kyo for not realizing how much he's hurting Tohru because Yuki's probably pitying himself more than I am pitying myself at the moment. Yuki doesn't realize how lucky he is. He doesn't appreciate having Tohru come to him. He doesn't even know how much Tohru _loves_ him.

He has always denied his influence over Tohru. Denied that he could make her happy. Denied her love for him. He's probably grieving right now because he thinks he's her second choice, a regrettable alternative, but what he doesn't realize is that it wasn't an accident. Because she said his name as soon as she woke up. Because she was looking for _him_, not Kyo. She knew exactly what she was doing last night. She didn't just sleep with him; she went to sleep with him. She drove there and fell asleep there. She stayed to wake up with him and woke up not even the slightest bit surprised to be there.

I didn't ever dare yearn for that.

Sex may be impulsive, but cuddling is not. Cuddling hours after the act is not. She did not just go for comfort. If she just wanted comfort and someone to sleep with, she could have come to me. I live closer to her than he does. She knows I am interested in her- I tried to kiss her! I have been comforting her all along, and yet she chose to go to him, even though she hasn't seen him in months and despite how distant he has grown from her. She went to him for a reason. Because she loves him, but he'll probably still wallow in his self-remorse.

I trembled with hate as I dug through his drawers for a scrap of paper and a pen. Luckily I spied a mess of them in the living room before I could march back upstairs at the sound of a door opening. I hastily scrawled the gist of what Kagura desired from him and bolted out before I did something I'd regret. I didn't stop running until I was standing inside my apartment, leaning against the door and panting for breath. I think my roommates were worried and questioned after my health, but I'm sure I just ignored them and waved them away. After I caught my breath, I left because I couldn't deal with their well-intentions.

I hid myself in an old music practice room that no one used anymore and slumped behind a stack of rusty music stands. There, I let myself sob and scream.

An hour later, when I was able to catch my breath and could manage a fake cheerful intonation, I answered the tenth time Kagura called me and told her Yuki had been busy so I left a note.

"Yes, Momiji-chan, I just wanted to thank you. Yun-chan already agreed to let me stay with him while I'm in Tokyo. But are you okay, Momiji-chan? You sound weird-"

"I'm fine. Just a little overworked. I'll see you back in Japan!"

I hung up and turned off my phone before she had a chance to express her skepticism.

In a matter of seconds, I lost all the composure I had fought for.

I hated him.

I hated her.

I missed all my lectures that day and skipped lunch.

Dinner time had already passed when I slouched back to my apartment with red-rimmed eyes. I was infuriated when I unlocked my apartment door and found Yuki sitting uncomfortably on my couch. He looked up when the door opened, and his eyes widened slightly out of acknowledgment when he saw me. I wrestled back a glare as he slid off the couch, stood, took one step towards me, and then hesitantly dropped back onto the arm of the couch while I turned my back to him and listlessly removed my shoes. He was still half-seated with his hand nervously resting behind his neck when I looked back at him from under my golden bangs.

"One of your roommates let me in. I believe he said his name was Taka-" he started a little uneasily.

"What do you want, Yuki?" I cut him off. It was rude, but I didn't care right now.

"Momiji, about what you saw earlier-"

"You don't have to explain, Yuki. I understand."

"No, Momiji-"

"I would have done the same if I were you, Yuki, so you really don't have to explain."

He lowered his head and smothered a sigh with that deep frown of his. Pensively, he studied his left sock and wrung his hands together. I could tell he couldn't decide whether to continue or not, even though I am sure that it took him a lot of courage to come over here, that he had probably already planned out everything he wanted to say, and that he had been waiting for a couple of hours at least, but he was always like this. He always let others and outside circumstances determine everything for him. That's why he let Tohru go. Five years ago and this morning. He never really fights. Or he never initiates a fight. He only knows how to respond but not how to act independently. I don't want to baby him through this, but I can't let either of them hurt Tohru again.

I take a deep breath before speaking, "If I were you, Yuki, I would make sure what happened is because the scale actually tipped towards your side because she realized she loves you more, rather than just a temporary change because she got mad at Kyo."

He looks up at me for a moment before replying, in a voice barely above a whisper, "I already know. It's because she's mad. That's why it'll be best if neither of us tells anyone else about this."

"Did she tell you not to tell anyone?"

"No-"

"Then shut up!"

He flinched and looked up at me, startled, with large gray eyes. His mouth is agape, but he doesn't know what to say. He's even more lost than before, and I'm shaking with anger. My hands ball themselves into tight fists, and I can feel my nails digging into my palms, but I can't uncurl my fingers, nor can I stop my feet from marching up to him. He just watches me, more confused than anything else, as I stomp over and my fist flies towards his face. He moves his head out of the way out of instinct more than intention. I lose my balance but catch myself on the edge of the coffee table. I clench the wood tightly as I grit my teeth to fight back returning tears.

"You're-You're so stupid, Yuki! You're so stupid… You don't even know what you have. She loves you."

"She loves Kyo."

"She loves you too, and if you just fight, if you just fought before, instead of giving up, she'd be yours."

"I… I don't want to ruin what she has with Kyo."

"It's already ruined."

He cringed.

"I could never make her smile like Kyo does."

I shove myself off of the coffee table and glare at him to keep him from looking down again because he's already angling his face away.

"She's not happy with him! And if you bothered to visit her, you'd see that. If you don't want to fight for her, then you're just a coward!"

He's taken aback. He looks hurt and scared, as if he thinks I've figured out too much. As I stare at him, I feel the rage begin to seep out of my body. My hands relax and my breathing slows. I slumped down into the chair across from him and sighed, burying my head in my hands. I allowed myself a moment to sympathize with him. It's hard to hate someone who has been on the same losing side as I've been on for the past several years, even if we'd only be on the same side for a while longer.

"I apologize if I seem angry at you, Yuki. I guess I'm just jealous."

"Why… would you be?"

"Because she went to you last night. Don't you understand what that means?  
Don't you understand what she's too scared to tell you because you don't even act like you care about her? She wants to be with _you_. Why do you think it's not working between her and Kyo?"

I don't think he believed me, or at least that's what I caught from his furrowed brows before he turned to face the window. He swipes his arm across his face before shoving his hands into his coat pockets, but I can tell they're clenched just as tightly as mine had been before. It's been a long time since I've seen Yuki cry. A long time since I've seen him express much genuine emotion in years, really. He might actually be as frustrated as I am. I let out another sigh, stand up, and sit down beside him.

"To be honest, I'd rather she be with you instead of Kyo anyways. You're more of a pushover, and I think that would make her happier. And since I can't be with her anymore, I just want her to be happy."

"Momiji, just because _that_ happened… It doesn't mean anything has changed. She just needed someone. It doesn't mean anything. "

"I may not be a fighter like you and Kyo, but I know when I've lost a fight, and I know when someone is winning."

It's just that… unfortunately, I lost. And yet, he still looks at me as if he doesn't believe me, as if _he_ lost instead.

**I never understood why Natsuki Takaya started a love triangle between Kyo, Tohru, and Momiji after ending the one with Yuki. **

**As more chapters are uploaded, I think you'll begin to notice this story focuses less on actual plot than on various character's thoughts.  
**

**I'll be uploading a cute (I think) nonsense humor oneshot shortly if this leaves you feeling a little bitter.  
**


	3. To Condemn

**Kagura**

I had moved to France a few years ago, partially for my new job and partially to escape from the past and my heartbreak. Kyo and Tohru had moved in together two days before I boarded the plane to France, and I have not been back to Japan since, even though nobody still seemed able to understand my French. I was a rising fashion designer. I had started rather small, mainly designing products for children, like cat backpacks, cat purses, cat hats, and whatnot, but I had advanced beyond silly cat-themed fashion since then. I had just had my first fashion show for my newest creations in Paris, and unfortunately, my boss thought it would be a good idea for me to go on a sort of "tour" to try to sell my designs to large companies all over the world. My first destination was home, Japan. Well, close enough to home; I'm not really from Tokyo, but the Sohma estate is just an hour away.

I hadn't really stayed in contact with my family since my departure because I didn't really want to accidentally hear any news about Kyo and Tohru. Mainly, I called my mom and wrote to her often, but we were both busy. I originally planned on staying with her and commuting to Tokyo by train, but I didn't think I had enough time for the two-hour trip everyday. I talked to Momiji about it- he was the only cousin I really kept in contact with besides Rin, but Rin and I had always had a sort of love-hate relationship. It was always easy to talk to the cheerful Momiji because he was always happy to talk to me; I think we bonded over our mutual heartbreak.

Anyways, Momiji quickly offered Yuki's house as a place for me to stay, explaining how Yuki had moved to Tokyo last year for a new job. I laughed at this; Momiji always acted as if everyone else's property was his. I told him I would ask Yuki, even though Momiji insisted it wasn't necessary. I tried calling Yuki ten times, but he never picked up, though I can't blame him. I was trying to call during my stopover in China, just a couple of hours before I'd arrive, and it was pretty early in Japan, especially for Yuki who had always struggled with getting out of bed.

After a bit of pestering (Momiji still insisted that it was unnecessary), I convinced Momiji to go over to Yuki's place and ask him for me since his school was a short walk from Yuki's house. Momiji would have let me stay in his apartment, but he lived with five other people in a cramped three-bedroom apartment. He did offer though. I just heartily declined. The two-hour commute would be preferable.

Momiji didn't seemed concerned after he hung up the phone and promised to get back to me in half an hour, but when he returned my call, hours later, his tone sounded strange. He usually talked as if he were singing some pop song and giggled after every three or so words, but his voice was rather somber when he called me. He didn't even have a definitive response to our proposition; he told me Yuki would call me later- not that that mattered since Yuki had already called. Normally, I would have been peeved, but I was more worried about Momiji. He hadn't sounded this upset since the day Tohru moved in with Kyo. I tried to ask him what happened, but he quickly bid me farewell and hung up before I could.

I didn't have much time to think about this; I had to make plans for my stay. Yuki had easily agreed to let me stay with him for a week. He even offered to pick me up from the airport, even though this meant he'd be an hour late for work. I could only thank him about fifty-three times before I had to get back on the plane. Now that I actually had my trip figured out for the most part, the rest of the flight went by rather quickly, and soon, I was grabbing my luggage and searching for my silver-haired cousin. He wasn't that hard to find; he was the one with twenty girls encircling him. He stood there awkwardly as they begged for his name and number.

Deciding to help him with a wry smile, I put on my most dreamy expression and called out, "Yuki, my love! You came early for me!"

Then, I proceeded to launch myself through the swarm of girls surrounding him until I was right in front of him, and I trapped him in a choking embrace. He didn't really return my hug, I noticed. Instead, he stood stiffly until I let go. When I looked up at him, he looked rather annoyed, though he didn't say anything. He just started walking towards the exit after grabbing the large suitcase that I had dropped beside me. I rolled my eyes before following after him. He was just too sensitive sometimes.

"Yun-chan, don't be angry! I was just trying to keep those girls away from you! I'm sure Machi-chan won't mind!" I cried in my own defense.

At the mention of her name, he turned back to face me and actually glared at me! Usually he reserved those angry faces for Kyo. I mean, Yuki has always been a little unusual, and we were never particularly close; because Kyo hated him and because I was determined to love Kyo, I had avoided Yuki as a child. Regardless, he was never mean and always tolerant of my intense love for Kyo and of my strange behavior. I concluded he must have been in a bad mood, probably because of my last minute plans that involved him, so I didn't complain when he tossed my suitcase in his trunk and we sat in silence on the ride back to his house.

Still, I found him to be really strange today.

He gave me a quick tour of his house once we arrived, showing me the small bathroom and the poorly furnished guest room and told me I could eat anything in the refrigerator, which mainly consisted of old take-out. Then he left for work, and I was alone in his messy house. Since I didn't have to go to work today, I was going to watch T.V. in the living room, but I couldn't find any room on the couch to sit on; it was littered with empty take out containers and jackets. I decided to look for a snack instead, but the rancid smell and the disgusting stains of every color scared me away from the refrigerator. The cupboards contained only empty boxes, and molding dishes filled the sink.

Yun-chan was disgusting.

I decided to help him because even though he wasn't as friendly as I remembered him to be, he was still letting me stay here. The first thing I decided to do was toss out everything in that horrid refrigerator. I immediately took out the trash bag and tossed it into the dumpster in the back. Then, I returned to the refrigerator and held my breath as I scoured the stains off the refrigerator shelves. I threw away the dishrag I had found after I completed that mission. I was actually quite proud of that work. The glass shelves were actually transparent again.

Then I tackled the dishes in the sink covered with green gunk. My arms were actually sore after I scrubbed those dishes clean. After I dried them, I mopped every surface in the kitchen. I originally thought Yuki had just picked the nastiest tiles for his kitchen (They were puke-colored shades of green and brown.), but after I was done with them, they were a rather creamy off-white color. I mercilessly washed my feet after that discovery and threw away the socks I had been wearing.

After I felt relatively clean again, I reentered the kitchen to start cooking a simple meal. I had learned to cook a lot of quick and easy meals while I lived alone in France. This really just entitled tossing a bit of everything from the refrigerator into a pot and letting it simmer for a couple of hours while I occupied myself with more important tasks, but with the minimal edible _things_ I could scrounge up in Yuki's house, I wondered how this would turn out. The concoction didn't look toxic, so I just shrugged and covered the pot with a lid before I retreated.

To my surprise, Yuki actually had a vacuum in the hall closet! This made me feel better after everything fell out of the closet and landed on me when I tried to open the door. Honestly, I just shoved everything back into the closet after I freed the vacuum- I wasn't a miracle cleaner here!

The vacuum worked after I kicked it a couple of times, and I began vacuuming the living room and the hallway. I had to empty it twice. I have no clue how Yuki managed to breathe with all this dust embedded in the carpet fibers; it seemed like clouds of filth should burst forth with every step. After I managed to start the vacuum again after emptying it for the second time, something managed to jam the vacuum cleaner and make it screech and come to an abrupt halt while I was vacuuming under the couch, which I had cleared of all the mess that had previously covered it- I had started a load of laundry from all those old clothes and filled another trash bag. I groaned and kicked the machine again but to no avail this time. I sighed before crouching down beside the vacuum. I reached in around the dusty opening for a while before I gave up and began to disassemble the vacuum.

To my surprise, a small ceramic cat charm fell out. It was familiar with a light pink collar with a real bell dangling off of it. It should be familiar anyways. I had made it for Tohru years ago. Tohru had loved it and kept it on her cell phone.

"Why would Tohru's charm be under Yuki's couch?" I asked myself.

Pocketing the charm, I shrugged to myself and got up at the sound of the timer that I had set to remind me to go get the laundry from the laundry room downstairs. I decided to start another load to save a trip up and down the stairs; I got the feeling there would be more dirty clothes in Yuki's room. To no one's surprise, I couldn't take a step in Yuki's room without finding my foot enmeshed in a pile of clothes. The clothes actually seemed to land on and in everything but the hamper in the corner, which was actually empty save for a single dress shirt.

I stuffed the hamper full, yet, a few scattered articles still remained: three wrinkled pants sprawled in front of his dresser, five mismatched socks in the corner, a crumpled pink cardigan half under his bed, a white sweater dangling off the edge of the chair before his desk, and pajama pants tangled with his bedding.

WAIT! A pink sweater?

I dove under the bed. After I sneezed about ten times because of the inch of dust that inhabited the space under his bed, I pulled out the pink garment, which made me sneeze more because my actions seemed to have sent dust flying into the air. Once I could breathe again, I examined the sweater carefully. It couldn't be Yuki's, though, I confess, I did entertain the idea of him cross-dressing for a minute or two. He may be rather scrawny, but this sweater looked like it would squish him if he could even fit into it. I also saw that a button seemed to have been torn off. I smiled wryly when I spotted the missing pink button across the room under his desk.

"I never would have expected this from you, Yun-chan!"

I giggled to myself as I tossed the sweater into the hamper and collected the rest of the garments off the ground. Then I turned back to the bed to wrestle the pajama pants out from the tangled mess that was his bedding. It was a battle. I ended up with the freed pants clutched in my arms, but I also wound up on the floor after banging my head against the dresser.

Something else tumbled off the bed too, along with his sheets, blanket, and pillows. It was a cream colored ribbon with scalloped edges. I stared at it as it slowly fluttered to the ground.

Even more than the cat charm, I'd say I'd recognize this ribbon anywhere. Because Tohru wore it everywhere. It was her favorite ribbon. I knew she wore others since she showed me her box of ribbons once, but I have only seen her wear this one. Anyone can tell she wore it a lot. The edges were starting to fray and the color started to fade near the center where she'd always tie a bow. I remember teasingly asking her what was so special about that ribbon. She had just blushed and stammered embarrassedly, saying nothing I could understand, while Kyo glared at me.

The ribbon landed by my feet.

I picked it up.

It reeked of Tohru's strawberry shampoo.

Mechanically, I pocketed the ribbon and carried the overflowing hamper downstairs to the laundry room. I did the laundry. Somehow. I think I dumped in the whole container of detergent. It doesn't really matter. When I was walking back up the stairs, all I knew was that I had a hamper full of washed clothes, the ribbon and charm in my pocket, and the pink sweater across my arm.

I tossed the hamper somewhere as I collapsed on the couch and stared at the ribbon and the cat charm.

Tohru could have lost her cell phone charm any day she came for a visit. She must visit a lot. She and Yun-chan used to be very close. Before she started dating Kyo anyways. Tohru was clumsy after all. She probably just dropped her phone. Kyo had probably been with her too.

The sweater was harder to explain. A button had been ripped off, but like I said, Tohru was clumsy. It must have snagged on something while she was visiting Yuki. And she must have gone up to his room in search of a sewing kit, but she heard a crash downstairs so she dropped the sweater and the button as she jumped from fright. She must have forgotten about them after stopping Yuki and Kyo from fighting- Kyo was also with her this time too. Or maybe it was even Machi's, though I've never seen her in bright pastel colors before, but this might not mean much since I've only seen her a few times.

Her ribbon in his bed, lost under his sheets, made me cringe as I thought. Maybe Yun-chan had gotten Machi the same ribbon? Even I didn't believe myself.

Perhaps there was a bad storm when she visited at night and she couldn't get back, so he lent her his bed?

_Or maybe he shared a bed with her_.

I nearly flung the items away with that thought. Luckily, I only dropped them. Shakily, I picked them up and set them on the table before I dove for my purse and dug out my phone. The phone was ringing before I knew I had called Kyo. The phone rang five times before Kyo answered reluctantly, I could tell because there was a minute of silence before he spoke warily, though I heard his heavy breathing the entire time.

"…Hello?"

"Kyo-kun!" I couldn't help myself from gushing slightly at the sound of his voice, even in this situation.

"Look, Kagura, I am kinda busy right now, so I can't talk."

"WAIT!" I cried before he could hang up. "I just have one question. Does Tohru still have that cat charm I made for her?"

"Yeah. Damn bell annoys the hell out of me every time. Why?"

"No reason. Just wondering. I won't bother you any more, Kyo-kun. I'll see you some other time!"

I hung up and laid the three artifacts in a neat line across the coffee table. I glowered at them, as if I could make them disappear, for at least half an hour before I dialed a new number. It took me three tries before my shaky fingers pressed the right buttons and five deep breaths to steady my choked voice. She picked up after the first ring, speaking in such a cheerful voice that I wouldn't have guessed anything was wrong, but maybe that was it. Her voice sounded a little too cheerful, even for her, as if she were trying to hide something, trying to compensate for something.

"Kagura-san! I heard you are back! How have you been? How was France?"

Anyone else that heard her exclaim as such would assume she was happy as usual, but I detected a reserve in her voice. A somber echo. A second of hesitation between her words that never existed before.

"France is nice. I'm just calling because I'm wondering if you're missing that cat charm I made you," I informed her coolly.

There was a pause and I heard a muffled shuffle and a gasp.

"I am sorry, Kagura-san! It must have fallen off!" she cried with a sniffle.

"It's okay, Tohru-chan. I found it."

"You did?! Where?"

"Under Yun-chan's couch."

Tohru seemed unable to speak. I heard her swallow nervously and her breathing hitch. I think I heard a pot or a pan crash to the ground, but Tohru didn't react. I couldn't even hear her breathe anymore.

"It's okay, Tohru-chan. You don't have to explain to me. I also found your ribbon and sweater. You might want to get them from Yun-chan before Kyo-kun finds out, neh?"

The cheer in my voice sounded so false that I doubted it fooled gullible Tohru. I hung up after that, relieving her of her anxiety, and continued to brood, alternating stares at the pieces of evidence with glances at the door. It didn't seem to take long before I heard the jingling of keys and a crack as the door gave way. My second suspect came in, casually slipping off his shoes as his face scrunched up.

"Kagura, I'm bac- Is something burning?"

I only glared, not saying anything as I waited for him to spot the exhibit I had created. He quickly turned his eyes away from the ire burning in mine, and in lowering them, he found the items with a lurch, nearly falling over before he caught himself on the door frame. He studied them carefully before meeting my eyes. He had composed himself a little, steeling his eyes, but I could see his gray eyes waver and his straightened lips falter into frowns repeatedly as he took a few steps over towards me.

"So you and Tohru-chan, huh?" I asked, raising my eyebrows.

His lips quivered, and his lips remained downturned now.

"How could you, Yun-chan?"

"Kagura, it's not like that-"

"How could you?!"

"She came to me. In the middle of the night, sobbing. Sobbing because of him. Because he doesn't appreciate her as he should. As I do. What was I supposed to do?"

He spoke guardedly in a cold voice as if he didn't even believe himself. It only fueled my fury. I leapt up off the couch and shoved him with all my strength. If he hadn't had the martial arts training he did, he probably would have fallen out the window behind him. Instead, he caught himself on the windowsill. Yuki stared at me with wide eyes and continued to stare at me even after I slapped him. He hardly reacted to my strike; his face barely moved a centimeter. The only sign that I had actually struck him was the quickly darkening mark on his right cheek.

"Comfort her without sleeping with her!" I screamed.

All he seemed capable of doing was meeting my infuriated gaze with a strange expression of his own. Then he turned away with a new scarlet taint to his cheeks, flushed out of shame or anger. For a moment, there was no movement, and the only sound was that of my heavy breathing. Then he roughly wiped his face with the back of his arm as he glowered at the carpet. This was enough to make me take a breath. I collapsed back onto the couch wearily, still watching him as my anger slowly vanished. He didn't even spare me a glance. He only swiped at his face again.

I spoke in a gentler tone, "Yuki, she came to you for support."

"Kagura, don't."

"She was upset and vulnerable."

"Kagura, please stop."

"And you took advantage of that-"

"Kagura! I know! Stop judging me. Please. Just stop… I know. I know already. I know what I did was wrong, okay? But what would you have done if Kyo came to you like that?"

He finally turned his face towards me with his mouth twisted, his eyebrows wrenched together, and his eyes darkened with such indescribable agony that for a minute, I felt guilty. He slammed his fist against the wall behind him, and I could feel the house shake and the few trinkets in the room clatter. Then he slowly slid down onto the floor, drew his knees against his chest, and buried his face in his hands. I could see his shoulders tremble the tiniest bit. If this were any other situation, I would have taken Yun-chan into my arms and held him as tightly as I could because this is exactly how I imagined he looked those days when Akito locked him up in that dark room, and that image still haunts me, even though that room has become a closet long ago. Instead, I leaned forward, and wrapped my fingers tightly around the sofa cushion.

"Probably the same thing you did," I admitted. "We were always in the same situation, loving someone who loved someone else. Except in your case, she actually does love you back. But there's another difference between you and me."

He arched an eyebrow at me, lifting his face just an inch.

"You have Machi-chan."

He looked away again when I said her name.

"What about her, Yuki? You're not just hurting Tohru-chan and Kyo."

"I don't know, Kagura. I don't know. I love her, I guess. It was just never the same as my feelings for Tohru. With Tohru, I always knew I loved her. I always knew I'd do anything for her. That's why I didn't complain when she told me about Kyo. It's not the same with Machi. I care about her, and I hate myself for doing that to her, but I know if it's what Tohru wanted, I'd do that again. I know I'm being incredibly selfish and cruel, but it's true. Tohru has always been more important to me than Machi."

"Then why are you even dating her?"

Yuki looked up at me as if the answer was so obvious but an answer that he hated himself for. I almost regretted asking, almost regretted even bothering to confront him about this whole ordeal. Surely he hated himself for what he did more than I ever could, and he'd probably punish himself more than I would deem sufficient. Yuki always excelled at everything, and that included, of course, self-contempt. He sank his head into his arms, and held himself tightly. I could tell he had to strain himself to force the next few words from his mouth.

"Loneliness, I guess. I wanted someone to care and didn't want Tohru to worry about me."

"That's not fair to Machi-chan."

"I know."

"Are you going to tell her?"

"I don't know."

"Yun-chan…"

"I know I should tell her, Kagura. She has a right to know that I'm just deceiving her, but… But she's all I have."

"Then what's Tohru-kun to you?"

"She's… She's my life, but," he spoke slowly, pained, "she loves Kyo."

He stood up then, forced himself up onto his shaky legs, and forced them to take him to his room as quickly as possible, probably to keep me from seeing his red eyes.

**Poor Yuki :c I feel like everyone blames him. I don't know if this one is too similar to the last one, but the next one will be different! But I think I will be updating biweekly from now one because I have to go back to my nerdy school now. Enjoy and tell me what you think! Happy New Year!**


	4. To Guilt

_Glaciaa_ (and to anyone else iffy about the story): I don't think you'll read this since you don't like this fanfic, but I really appreciate you taking your time to read this story! I'm not offended in case you were worried about that, and I'm glad you told me your opinion! I'm not surprised that you don't like it because I didn't go into this story expecting everyone to like it because cheating is always a touchy subject, but I believe it's not about who will cheat and who will never cheat but when and why people cheat. I believe everyone will cheat under certain circumstances, and of course those circumstances will be different for different people, so I don't think there are people who will never cheat, just people who are extremely unlikely to cheat. And of course, Tohru and Yuki are just those people. It's probably my fault for not making the circumstances strong enough to make it believable to make them cheat, but remember, this is the early part of the story, so you're not getting the whole story yet. But in no way am I condoning cheating. I am actually highly critical of it. Sorry that this turned out so long and probably sounded a little condescending, but I'm actually really happy you shared your opinion! :D

**Uo**

I was relieved when Tohru called me and asked if I'd meet her in the park. Hana and I have been worried about her. She hasn't been herself for God knows how long. I can't remember the last time I saw her smile. Truly smile, not the crappy attempt she makes when she's greeting me- kinda like she's doing right now. This smile is fake. She can only lift the corners of her mouth about a millimeter, and they drop back down instantly. I don't bother to try to force a smile onto my face, so she just looks away.

Tohru had learned to hide her eyes from me and avoided Hana completely. I couldn't see how her waves had darkened with grief, but I could see how her eyes did.

She sat on the edge of the bench, idly swinging her legs and staring at the tree branches waving unsteadily against the gloomy gray sky. I leaned back against the back of the bench and watched her, choosing not to pressure her. She'd need her time if I wanted her to actually say what she wanted to, and I did. She's been avoiding me too. She probably doesn't want us to worry about her, but I also suspect she's ashamed because every time we do see her, I admit, we interrogate her about Orange Top.

I also admit that it came as quite a shock to me that she actually picked Kyo.

It's hard to explain. I always thought she had a crush on him, but she always had had a crush on Prince Charming too, ever since we started attending this high school. I teased them both, and her, with my speculations about which of them she'd end up with, suggesting them both equally, but I always thought she'd pick Prince Charming because he's frickin' Prince Charming. He's sweet and sensitive, always at her beck and call, and Orange Top is Orange Top. Kyo isn't a bad guy. He's nice, deep deep deep down, and it's always been Tohru's gift to find people's inner goodness, but he's brash. And loud. And rude. And doesn't think. (Kinda like me actually, but with Tohru, I'm different.) Of course he doesn't mean to, but he hurts her. He's making her sad right now.

She doesn't like to talk about it and always readily denies that he has done anything wrong, but she's always been easy to read. The contrast is just too apparent. When she first moved away with him, I thought they might make it. Orange Top had mellowed out a lot, especially around her, and she was ecstatic. I believed she had actually managed to change him into… well, into Prince Charming.

That didn't last.

I guess I should have been surprised it lasted as long as it did.

It's hard to change yourself. I should know.

Hana noticed first. Tohru had come for a short visit, sans her converted Prince Charming. It was hard to tell, at first anyways, but surely, she didn't bounce as much as she usually did, and her grin faltered a lot. Then, she lost the bounce all together and began to slump. And grins faded into fainter and fainter smiles. And we saw her less and less. Whenever either of us asked her what was wrong, she'd make an insane attempt to grin her dorky grin, which just made her look more pitiful, deny our claims that anything was wrong, and didn't even bother to hide the fact that she was changing the topic. If we mentioned our suspicions about Kyo being the cause, it'd be worse. It was painful to watch her force the smile on her face then and quietly deny our accusations. When she changed the topics on those occasions, she always began talking about the past. She'd always reminisce about our high school days and briefly about the period right after graduation.

As time went on, she talked about the present less and less. She always talked about the Kyo from years ago. She actually didn't talk much about the Prince either, or at least she tried not to, but he was always inevitably brought up during her high school reflections. She's start laughing about a stupid argument he and Kyo had had or start smiling when she talked about something sweet he did while fingering that cream colored ribbon of hers. Then her eyes would widen, and she'd stop and make a prattling speech about cats. It was always the same cycle. I expected as much this time, but when she finally turned towards me, the question she asked shocked me.

"Uo-chan, have you ever been angry with Kureno-san?"

I'm not sure how long it took me to stop staring at her and open my mouth to form a response. I wasn't sure why she was asking this. She hated to talk about relationship problems, but she actually didn't bother to hide the distress in her expression this time. I tried to joke because I was uncomfortable.

"Of course I have! I'm angry with him at least once a day! Just think about how idiotic this guy can be sometimes! Just the other day he gave a hundred dollars to some good-for-nothing drug addict wandering the streets! And guess what he says to me after? 'But Arisa, he asked if anyone had a hundred dollars to spare, and I did. It's not like we're in any financial difficulty anyways.' Can you believe the guy?"

I grin at Tohru, but her smile in return is weak and doesn't last over a second.

"I mean really, _really_ angry. Have you ever had a _serious_ fight with him?" she clarifies.

When I don't respond, she adds in a whisper, "Have you ever been so angry you thought about cheating on him?"

I laughed. "I would never cheat, Tohru. Cheating is just pathetic. It's the lowest thing anyone can do. I mean, I know I'm not perfect, but cheating is just stupid. Like seriously, who are those sluts trying to fool? Just keep your legs shut and pick one guy for God's sake. Don't you agree, Tohru?"

She looks away when she replies, "Yes. Only the worst women would do so."

I didn't take her last question too seriously or read any personal confession in the question. The closest I got to a deeper meaning in her questions was that she and Kyo had had another huge fight, or any fight for that matter. Even the most minor argument probably upset Tohru this much.

I never thought she was trying to tell me that she had an affair.

**I think this story was almost more reply rant than story! Sorry! It's the nature of this type of story! Some chapters just won't be very long. Do review and let me know your thoughts- negative or positive! c: **


	5. To Disperse

**Kureno**

To confess the truth, I was a little annoyed when Kagura showed up on our porch with a overflowing suitcase in her hand at ten in the evening without a warning of any kind, not that that stopped her from hastily explaining that she was back from Paris and needed a place to stay because she and Yuki had had a bit of a disagreement and barging into the apartment I shared with Arisa. She took over the living room and settled herself comfortably on the couch with her open suitcase in the middle of the room while I stood at the door frame with an unreadable expression, but Kagura didn't seem to mind as she began tossing her things about and making herself quite at home. Despite the frown she wore, she looked quite satisfied and happy when she looked up at me after finishing unpacking.

"I'm famished. Got any food for pitiful me with no home?" she asked sweetly.

Turning around quickly so she wouldn't see the falter in the apathetic expression I tried to wear, I walked into the kitchen and heated up some leftovers for her with the microwave. When the microwave beeped, she hurriedly sat down before the small table in the kitchen, and the instant I set the dish before her, she started shoving the food down her throat. It didn't surprise me that she was so hungry. Yuki rarely had anything edible in his house, usually just stale crackers, rotting takeout, expired instant noodles, and unidentifiable burnt remains, but truthfully, I only visited him once, so perhaps he had acquired some cooking skills after living alone all these years. Kagura wasn't much of a cook either, but likewise, maybe Paris had enlightened her culinary side.

I took the seat across from her and watched her peek at me over the rim of the bowl.

"What did you and Yuki disagree about that was so important that you can't stay with him anymore? He lives in Tokyo after all. It can't get more convenient for you than that. Or what about Kyo and Tohru-san? They live only ten minutes from Tokyo. Not that Arisa or I mind, but a forty five minute drive everyday is a bit troublesome, isn't it, Kagura?"

"Don't talk about those two to me," she muttered through a mouthful of food.

"Kyo and Tohru-san?"

"No, Yuki and Tohru."

I raised an eyebrow at her in confusion, prodding for an explanation. She scooped the last few mouthfuls into her mouth before setting the bowl down with the chopsticks neatly laid across and stared at me with her arms folded across her chest.

"Tohru and Yuki slept together. They betrayed Kyo-kun," she told me rather bluntly.

Honestly, I'm not quite sure what face I made when I heard this. It must have contained some shock. I wasn't too close to either Yuki or Tohru, having spent most of my life obeying Akito's bidding, but judging from the glimpses I garnered of Yuki when he had been Akito's plaything, he always seemed rather shy and hesitant. I can't say I didn't think he was rather weak, considering his sickly demeanor and all the condescending things Akito would tell me about him. Everyone else in the Sohma household, however, spoke of him as the epitome of perfection. He was, and still is, quite the enigma. And Tohru. Hearing Arisa speak of her, you'd think she was more goddess than woman, always putting others first and always doing her best to help everyone but herself.

But I shouldn't be too judgmental though, considering that my relationship with Akito had been far from pure and bordered along similarly incriminating lines. Perhaps that's why I felt a bit defensive at Kagura's words, even if I couldn't justify their actions, having no real knowledge about the situation, but I still tried.

"Kagura, do you really think you should be telling other people about this? It's a private matter between-"

"So I should keep it a secret then? Why should it be a secret? If they have the nerve to cheat, then Kyo has the right to know. I will _not_ help them hide this from everyone."

"Kagura, you really should let Tohru tell Kyo herself."

I'm not completely sure why I tried to reason with Kagura when I know her indignation was probably fueled more by lingering affection for Kyo and suppressed jealousy than by morality and justice. In other words, she was not rational at the moment, but she has always been more driven by her emotions than reason. But I do know that if someone other than I had told Arisa what my past relationship with Akito had been like, I'd be pretty peeved, especially considering how Arisa _did_ react with me minimally explaining it to her in the kindest way (She threw the butcher knife at me –thankfully missing- and kicked me out of the house for three weeks.). Kyo has an explosive temper similar to Arisa, and it's no secret that the end of Kyo and Tohru's relationship would please Kagura at least a little bit, regardless of how much she has grown to care for Tohru.

"I'll give her one week. If she doesn't tell him by then. I will."

"Kagura…"

She just shook her head at me, though her stubbornness far from surprised me. Like I said, I hadn't expected her to be reasonable.

"Thanks, Kureno, but I'm tired, so I think I'll go sleep now."

She simply dumped her dishes in the sink, headed into the living room, and plopped herself onto the couch. I just sighed and glanced at my watch. It was a quarter to eleven; Arisa'd be home soon. She had insisted on working a late shift for the extra pay, though we really didn't need the money. Arisa liked to contribute as much as possible because she refuses to be taken care of or babied. She shunned the idea of a stay-at-home wife, and I love her for her fierce independence much as Kyo, and Yuki for that matter, love Tohru for her gentle care, though ironically, nothing pleases her more than doting on Tohru As opinionated as Arisa tends to be and as much as Arisa watches over Tohru, I didn't doubt that she'd want to hear about this, and I'd let her decide whether we should warn Tohru or not.

It was probably a good thing that Kagura had buried herself under our spare blankets and fallen into a deep sleep when Arisa returned. She and Kagura had never quite gotten along. I think it's because they both refuse to ever back down and because Arisa has always taken Tohru's side and Kagura Kyo's through all their problems. So predictably, after I informed Arisa about our guest, she stomped into the living room with her arms crossed and a scowl across her face. I suspect she would have lingered around the living room making as much noise as possible had I not lured her upstairs with a warm bath as bait. This is how Arisa is- she likes to appear like a tough gang leader, but inside, she just loves things like bubble baths and hugs, which is why I worried about how she'd react when I told her. Luckily, the bath gave me half an hour to plan, but after we were both settled in bed, I was still unprepared and without much other excuse to delay.

"Arisa, have you seen Tohru recently?" I began with more confidence than I felt.

"Yeah… I saw her this morning. Before work. Why?" she responded as she set down the magazine she had been browsing.

"How did she look?"

"She seemed a little out of it. And asked some strange things. She looked the same as she usually does. A little sad but trying to hide it. But since when have you been so interested in Tohru?"

After taking a breath, I casually commented, "Kagura told me something I don't know if I should believe."

"What?"

Arisa eyed me suspiciously. Like I said, they don't get along, and it was about Tohru, and that always makes Arisa extra cautious. That told me to proceed cautiously because I can't back down after telling her that much, but I can't help hesitating. She looks ready to either pounce on me or storm downstairs and pounce on Kagura until she gets answers, so I steel myself and try to appear as neutral as possible to calm Arisa- two skills I've perfected after serving Akito for so long, though I use them now for different reasons.

"She told me that Tohru had an affair on Kyo with Yuki."

Arisa shocks me with her reaction. Instead of flaring up and breaking something, she actually seemed to settle down at my words, or at least, she settled back down onto her side of the mattress and let her hands lie limply on either side of her. Her head drooped, her shoulders sagged, and any trace of emotion drained from her face. She became uncharacteristically quiet for minutes, immobile and staring at nothing. Arisa always tended to process things through violence and screams, so her silence started to concern me.

"Arisa?"

"That does explain Tohru's weird questions. She asked me if I'd ever cheat. Usually she's never that intrusive… Tohru must be beating herself up over this. I should go talk to her and make sure she's okay."

"Arisa, if Tohru didn't tell you this morning, maybe she isn't ready to talk to people about it. Maybe you should wait."

Then she starts to cry.

"Maybe you should shut up and stop telling me how to deal with my friends! I've known Tohru since we were little. I know everything about her! And I know she's sensitive and never stands up for herself! And I know she's been suffering all these years! I probably have to beat Orange Top up for her! He probably did something horrible to her! I c-can't even begin to imagine-"

Arisa was bawling so hysterically by this point that she could hardly get her words out. She was shaking and squeezing the feathers out of her pillow. This is the real Arisa. I think she's more easily moved to tears than Tohru. I took her into my arms, and she gripped my shirt so tightly that I fear choking more than her tearing my pajama top.

"I'm gonna kill him for her. I'm gonna make him regret ever hurting her!"

She pulled away from me and tried to get out of bed to hunt Kyo down, and I had to fight to keep her from leaving, but in exchange, she sobbed the entire night.

**I know I haven't replied to all the reviews and PMs yet, but I will do so right after this! I do appreciate all the support, so please continue to tell me what you think! :D Don't be scared to critique. I'm not that mean, and I have a huge ego, so you won't offend me that easily! **


	6. To Aggravate

**Ritsu**

Horrified, I could only stare at the papers flying around. It was windy today, the worst possible day to run into someone walking around with a huge stack of papers that was now nothing more than a few scattered sheets here and there. The wind had swept most of them along the road. I grimaced as I dared to look down at the astounded woman, sitting in a puddle with her skirt soaking wet. I fought back the frenzied outburst that fought to erupt, restraining it to only three tear-filled apologies. Then I whirled around to help catch the fleeing sheets before the wind stole them all, but someone had already beaten me to it. A brunette woman was hopping up to reach a page soaring above her head. When she turned around with the sizable stack in one arm and two grocery bags hanging from the other and saw me, her face brightened with a grin.

"Ritchan-san!"

"T-Tohru-san!"

She hurried over, still beaming brightly, though somehow not as brightly as I used to remember, and handed me the pile. I swallowed a large protest when I took the pile from her and handed the papers back to the fallen lady. I only had to bow to her four times before I could accept her assurances that everything was all right, but by then, she was already halfway down the sidewalk with the reduced stack gripped tightly in her hands. I then looked back at the shorter woman beside me with a small smile, which she struggled to return fully. A little worried that I had troubled or offended her with my stroke of clumsiness, I felt tears beginning to brew behind my eyes.

"Tohru-san, did you just finish doing some shopping?" I asked, trying to distract her from whatever had just saddened her.

"Y-Yes! Would you like to come over for lunch, Ritchan-san?"

I was about to decline with a spout of nonsense about how I didn't deserve such generosity and how busy she must be, but she looked desperate. Her glistening brown eyes pleaded me to agree, so within seconds, I found myself trailing behind her as we headed back to her small house. She tried to keep a cheerful conversation between us, but within seconds came her first sigh. Then the sighs came more often and her words less. By the time we reached her door, we had both been utterly silent for five minutes, except for one apology, but she did offer me another half smile when she opened the door and insisted that I go in first, but when I did, a scowl and a mop of bright orange hair greeted me.

"What are you doing here, Ritsu?" he growled.

"Kyo-kun!" Tohru scolded as she stepped in after me.

He shot me a glare while she had her back turned to lock the door and scowled when an apology slipped out because that just made Tohru look at him with a frown, but only for a second. It didn't seem like she could make herself look at him for any longer. I think I heard her sniffle, and Kyo must have too because he beat me to an apology, but that apology just seemed to make her sniffle more. His expression gentled as he took her hand and a bag of groceries from her and walked with her to the kitchen to help her put everything away.

I lingered by the door for a moment before trailing after them. I walked in to see her turn away from the kiss he was leaning in to give her and start to unpack the groceries instead. Kyo caught me by the doorway and glowered at me, clearly blaming me for the rejection, but I didn't think Tohru noticed me. Otherwise, she would have tried harder to keep a smile on her face rather than that quivering partial frown she wore now. She sniffled again before she grabbed the fruits and vegetables and buried her head in the refrigerator while Kyo began to shove the dried goods into the cabinets, opening and slamming every few until he found the correct one. Every thud made Tohru flinch, but he didn't seem to notice. He seemed too focused on a green vegetable sticking out of one of the plastic bags by her feet. He glared at it with more ire than when he had looked at me just a moment ago.

"Why do you always buy leeks? I HATE leeks!" Kyo fumed.

"I like leeks," Tohru whispered without even looking away from the refrigerator.

"What?"

"I like leeks!" Tohru cried, rising to her feet.

With an expression probably as shocked as mine, Kyo stared at Tohru and finally noticed the tears streaming down her face. His face morphed instantly from anger to remorse. He reached over to wipe the tears from her face, but she pulled away. She looked at him for a moment in what probably was her form of a glare, but she seemed sadder than anything else. Then she abandoned the bag of groceries she had been unpacking and stalked out of the room, swiping at her eyes at every step.

Choking down apologies trying to war their way out, I stood awkwardly in the kitchen with Kyo, who had decided to direct his wrath towards me. He glared at me while he shoved the leeks into a drawer in the refrigerator. Normally, I would have started exploding with apologies, but I knew that would just infuriate Kyo further. Besides, I was trying to overcome that quirk of mine ever since I met Mitsuru, my beloved fiancée with patience enough to endure me and my faults, but it was still hard to ignore the apologies pricking the back of my throat, so I shrank away and slowly crept out of the kitchen. The tension continued to cling to me as I leaned against the wall in the hallway. I glanced between the entrance to the kitchen and the stairs, wondering what I should do in this situation.

I decided to take the stairs since Kyo would likely calm down after Tohru cheers up, right?

I haven't been to the second floor of their house before, but I tracked Tohru down easily. It'd be rather difficult to miss her weeping, after all. She hadn't closed her door completely. The sliver of an opening allowed me to see her lying facedown on her bed, clenching her pink blanket to her face and trembling. I couldn't bear to look at her like that, but I couldn't seem to move. I could only fidget for a minute, but eventually, I summoned enough courage to put my hand on the door. I meant to just knock, but unfortunately, the door flew open and crashed against the wall.

She jolted up at the sound and whirled around to look at the door. Her hair swirled after her and clung to her wet cheeks while she dropped her face and sat up stiffly at the sight of me, as if she nervously expected some punishment for crying. I quickly glanced down the hallway at the empty stairway before I uneasily stepped into her room and over to her bed, but she didn't even lift her head at my approach. I choked down another apology crawling across my tongue and held my breath as I carefully seated myself down beside her. I lifted and dropped my hand ten times before I finally managed to set it on her shoulder in what I hoped to be a comforting manner.

"Tohru-san, are you okay?"

Seemingly startled awake by the question, she cried, "Ritchan-san, I am so sorry! I'm being a terrible host. Let me make you some tea and a snack!"

"But Kyo…"

She had stood and had started to leave but faltered at my words. For a few minutes, she kept her back to me. She didn't say anything at first, but I could hear a strange gagging and sputtering sound that she tried to muffle by pressing her face into her arm. Her shoulders were shaking again, but she kept her other arm around herself as if to force herself still. I felt panic building inside. I was just about to reach for her shoulder again, but she turned around and sat back down with a smile on her face before I could. At least, I think it was supposed to be a smile; it had the right intentions, at least- the corners of her lips were slanted upwards, even if only a millimeter or two. Her eyes troubled me, however. I knew they weren't just red and swollen from the crying I had walked in on, but she just clutched my hands and tried harder to smile convincingly.

"Don't be upset with Kyo-kun, Ritchan-san. It's not his fault. Really. It's mine! I overreacted. It's just some silly leeks. I should just stop buying them. I shouldn't keep making him mad just for a couple of leeks," she spoke softly, as if she didn't trust her voice not to crack.

"Tohru-san, if you're not happy, I-I can tell Yuki for you! He'll beat some sense into Kyo! I k-know it! With his fists!"

"NO!"

She frightened me with her scream, and she clenched my hands so tightly that I winced and yanked my hands out of hers. I instantly regretted doing so because as soon as our hold broke, so did she. Before she could turn away to stare out the window, I caught a glimpse of her bottom lip beginning to quiver, but she didn't even bother to move her hands to cover her face, not even when I saw a tear drip off her chin. She just kept her hands neatly folded on her lap. I sucked in a deep breath to steady my voice and contain my mounting hysteria as I scooted closer to her.

"N-No? Tohru-san? What's the matter? I know Yuki wouldn't mind! He really cares about you, and he would be upset if he knew Kyo had just yelled at you like that. I mean- Not that Kyo is a bad person! Or Yuki! They're both wonderful people! I am the bad person here! Me!"

"No, Ritchan-san. It's not you. It's me. I've… I've been unappreciative. I've been the hurtful person. I've been selfish and inconsiderate. I'm the bad person."

"Tohru-san?"

"I'll go make you some tea now!"

With that, she hopped up and scurried out of the room, and I sat there, clueless and wondering what had just happened. I started after her to make sure she was all right, but before I could even walk past the doorway, I bumped into her desk, knocking over a few small articles. As I bent over to pick up the cream colored ribbon and her phone that jingled with the attached cat charm, I accidentally noticed that she had been trying to call Yuki.

**I know I said there'd be no cliffhangers, but... I don't fully consider this a cliffhanger because the next narrator won't address any calls. This story is just a bunch of snippets you'll have to weave together! But at least it begins to address Tohru and Kyo's problems, but if you took this chapter to mean leeks are the bane of the relationship, you took their overt fight too literally, if you even want to call it that. It's tricky to write this! Please tell me what you think as usual c: **


	7. To Spite

**Motoko**

I've been called many things over the years. President. Fan girl. Slut. And Motoko, of course. But I've always preferred Minagawa-san because that's what _he_ calls me. Or 'called' since we haven't spoken since I graduated high school six years ago.

Sometimes, I wonder if he remembers me, but even if he does, it's probably not to the extent that I remember him, nor can his memories be as vivid as mine.

Sometimes, I wonder what he thought of me in high school. I could hardly speak whenever I ran into him. Though I confess, those meetings were hardly accidental. I followed him a lot those days. I had been quite obsessed with him back then, and that hasn't changed much, even with these last few years of separation.

Sometimes, I wonder if he even thinks of me anymore—or even ever.

Sighing, I set my framed picture of him back into the small box. That gaudily decorated shoebox contained everything I had that could pertain to him, even in the slightest bit. I had accumulated a bunch of handmade trinkets from the fan club and hundreds of candid pictures of him. I also had a copy of each of his school pictures. This collection of pictures forced me to acknowledge something I hate to. Browsing through all the photographs, anyone can trace his development. The first picture I have of him is his first year class photo. He's smiling, but after much scrutiny and comparison, I realized it was just a mask. Then in the handful of photos from the next few months, taken without his awareness, he's always alone, aloof, and frowning.

In the first picture I have of him grinning with genuine happiness, he's standing beside _her_. Actually, every picture of him smiling is of him standing beside her, and if she's not in the photo, I know she had been around during the time. The first time I heard him laugh had been when they were together, and that sound still echoes in my head every time it's silent. Those were the high points of my life. Then I graduated. I'd sneak back ever so often to steal glimpses and snap photographs, but month by month his last year, he seemed less and less happy. He still smiled just as often if not more so, but it was back to the mask. He had improved the mask though, and if you didn't study his face as much as I did, he'd definitely have you fooled. He had finally perfected it.

I didn't understand why he had returned to masquerading until I saw Tohru and Yuki's orange-haired cousin walking together, hand-in-hand, and Yuki passively watching by the school gate, forgetting to smile for once. For some reason, this infuriated me more than when I saw Yuki kiss that Machi girl in the park. I think it's because it confirmed that Yuki really loved Tohru Honda, and denying those signs had been my main preoccupation in high school. This doesn't mean that seeing Machi together with Yuki doesn't anger me—it just doesn't incense me as intensely. Tohru Honda will always be the witch to me because she's the only one who has successfully enchanted him, and she doesn't even seem to care that she did.

So right now, I don't know whether to feel ecstatic or vexed.

On one hand, I'm walking right behind Yuki. I'm so close that I'm inhaling his familiar scent once again. On the other hand, it's Machi's hair that slaps me in the face with every strong gust of wind. Luckily, the street is rather crowded, so they don't notice how close I am pressed against them, but if I had my way, I wouldn't choose to be here, forced to watch them together like this. I've already endured this for the past few blocks as I try to get back to my family's grocery store. Thankfully, they're not talking, just walking shoulder to shoulder.

He holds her hand as if it's a duty—first, loose and detached, then too tight. Both their hands soon grew white, but neither let go. I can't stop staring at their joined hands. The unit—I can call it that because it does seem that lifeless—doesn't swing with each stride of their legs. Rather, it hangs stiffly between them, completely motionless and unnatural. If this had been any other couple, I'd suspect they had just had a fight, but it's them, so I considered this normal.

At times like this, I wonder if it'd be different if he had won Tohru Honda—not that either of these wretched women deserve such a divine creature as Yuki, but he seems to consider them worthy, or in the case of one, acceptable.

I would wonder what it'd be like if I had won him, but that's even less probable. There's never a reason to replace a replacement lover. Besides, I've imagined us together enough these past few years. I imagined to the extent that I lived more in my fantasy world than the real one. For years, I had no friends, no job, no life. Just an imaginary boyfriend. Then my mother started charging me rent to continue to stay in her house. Of course, then, I had been appalled and condemned her for being such a horrid mother, but really, it forced me to confront life and actually start helping my mother with our grocery store. It had been the first time I noticed how old and weary my mother had grown. It made me realize that I had aged too, and fantasy worlds are no place for a grown woman.

But with Tohru Honda, I think he would be different. I think his real smile would return, or it never would have faded in the first place. I think he would be happy. Yet, I doubt she'd ever appreciate him as much as I do. I doubt she keeps a hoard of his pictures under her bed. I doubt she collects every scrap he discards just because he touched it. I doubt she stares at his photo for hours. But despite this, I know she understands him better than I do. She knows more of his quirks than I do. Friendship does reveal more than stalking after all. But most importantly, I know he loves her.

So Machi doesn't scare me like Tohru Honda does. I resent Machi too for being able to wear such a neutral expression while walking with him, but I guess being a replacement isn't the same as being someone's love. Though I think if I were in her place as Yuki's second resort, I'd still be grinning because he'd be holding my hand. Because we'd go on dates. Because he would kiss me. Even if it was all a farce and just his way of ignoring the inscriptions on his heart.

I try not to hate them because truthfully, I've hated a lot of people. The only person I've truly loved through the years was Yuki Sohma. I saw the other fan girls, my so-called friends during high school, as nothing more than nuisances and competition. I looked down on them and every other girl in school for failing to understand his magnificence. I had abandoned all my previous friends from childhood for him. Then Tohru Honda and her friends cultivated the fiercest hatred that ever surged through my veins.

Nobody. I cared for nobody. Still.

I'm the complete opposite of Tohru Honda. I think that's what lets me know that he will never love me as he loves her. With all my years of observation, it'd be impossible for me not to suspect that Yuki has some dark secret, some tragic past, some agonizing flaw that culminated in his need for care, delicate care that she excelled in giving. The care that I lack and that Machi also lacks. I think that's why Machi never made me as nervous as Tohru did. Because Machi and I are the same. We're not enough.

Speaking—well, I guess _thinking_—of _her_, I see her across the street. Actually, I didn't notice her first. What I did notice was the sudden break in the joined hands I had been watching. It seemed to happen in slow motion. Her hand is flung aside as he tears his side from hers and dashes across the street. Then I spot Tohru Honda seated on the sidewalk with paper bags and rolling produce scattered around her.

And I'm not the only one who looks on with disgust to see Yuki dodge traffic as he rushes across the busy street to help her up and gather the fallen groceries for her.

**I know I missed the last update :c That's what happens when you go to a nerdy school on the quarter system and two of your classes want to end two weeks early. But the next one should be on time! I'm sorry because this story advances at a very uneven pace and it's slow right now. Hopefully still entertaining though! ****Please continue to tell me what you think c:**


	8. To Observe

**Satsuki**

I had just finished grocery shopping with my five-year-old daughter, Hinata. My son, Hiro, didn't join us today. He was too busy finishing his school work. He's in his third year of high school now, and he's also student council president. That's why Hinata and I are all alone. She's holding a small bag in one hand and mine in the other while I hold the other bags in my free hand. It's a bit of a struggle like this, but we must manage for Hiro's sake. Besides, it's not that unusual for women to go shopping alone. With prices these days, our men must work extra hard to make ends meet, so we women must also work hard.

A block ahead of us, there's a woman with long brown hair walking home alone with her groceries too, and she has many more bags than us. Before we can offer to help her even with our hands full, unfortunately, she trips. It's like in those dramas I watch after Hinata goes to bed! She falls in slow motion with her hands flailing and the bags flying out of her hands. Fruits and vegetables tumble out of the bags and crash onto the ground as she does. Apples and oranges begin to roll down the sidewalk and even onto the street, where cars run over them, crushing the fruit and squeezing pulp and seeds out.

Hinata and I rush forward to try to help her, seeing as everyone else around her only seem able to stand and gawk at the sight, but the sound of car horns blaring make us freeze. We almost drop our groceries out of shock, but of course, the incessant screeching of horns and cars trying to brake redirects our attention to the wide street, where a man is rushing across the street, trying to weave through the speeding cars. I immediately recognize him as one of my nephews. It's hard not to with that silver hair of his.

I watch as he bends down to save one of the spared oranges before finally stepping onto the sidewalk to help her pick up the rest of the scattered groceries.

She looks up when she sees him pick up on of her bags and start putting the fruit back inside. At first, her eyes widen and she drops the package she had just picked up, but he smiles shyly at her, so she tries to smile back at him with a quickly reddening face. It's then I recognize the woman as the long-term girlfriend of another one of my nephews, Kyo.

He says something to her, and she just blushes deeply in return. I don't need to be close enough to hear what they're saying to know she's sputtering a little incoherently. I can tell by how she returns to frantically picking up the fruit instead of looking up at him when she replies, but I do need the couple of steps forward that I took to notice the light pink flush across his cheeks. By this point, he had helped her up and was holding onto her grocery bags for her, but he didn't return her bags at first. He said something else and gestured with the bags in his arms. In response, the blush across her face darkened. She immediately began shaking her head and reaching for the bags. He spoke again, jostling the bags with a disapproving expression, but he acquiesced momentarily. He handed her back her bags with a frown that matched the small one that had formed across her face.

I heard her whisper, "—don't think it would be best if you saw Kyo-kun right now."

I didn't know what to make of this fragment. I had always known Yuki and Kyo hadn't gotten along, but I guess I had assumed their relationship must have improved by now, especially with the breaking of the curse. I had always thought they took the curse a little too seriously. It was but a part of them, not their entire being, so I never understood why they let it dominate themselves so, how they let it determine their relationships with each other. Don't think I underestimate the consequences of the curse though. I am a mother of a cursed child, after all, but I never let Hiro think the curse defined him. I always pushed him to define himself. Maybe those two just needed a push too until they and everyone else stop thinking of them as the rat and the cat.

By now, we were standing just a few steps behind them, but neither of them noticed either of us. They just continued to stare at each other for a moment before she bowed and started to hurry down the road. He watched her dash away for a minute before he let out a sigh. With his hands in his pockets and his head lowered, he sauntered back across the street to rejoin, I presume, the expressionless girl who had been watching him all the while.

Somewhat disconcerted by her apathy, I turned back to Tohru, I think her name is, and I couldn't help smiling when I saw her almost drop her bags again when she glanced across the street, where he had begun walking again with the stoic woman beside him, going the opposite direction. I had been just as clumsy when I had been pregnant with Hinata.

**What? Satsuki? Yes! Because she reminds me a lot of Tohru, actually. (I swear there is a reason for every chapter! Believe it or not!) I apologize for the long wait; I have been busy/don't have enough of the next chapters written to update quite so often. But chapter 9 will be out before June! Please tell me what you think c: **


	9. To Spy

**Momo**

Mama is worried about Nii-chan, my older brother. Usually he calls us everyday to tell us all the fun things that are going on in his life, but he hasn't called in over a week, and there had been five days of silence before that. Papa and Mama had almost driven down there out of concern, but luckily, he called us before they had gotten to that point. We had actually just been five minutes short of getting into the car. His call didn't exactly comfort Mama or Papa—it kinda just assured them that he was still alive and hadn't been kidnapped or anything.

I had actually never heard him sound like that before. Nii-chan has always been known for his peppy and upbeat personality. Even through the phone you'd get the feeling that he was grinning and hopping around while he talked to you. I almost didn't believe that Nii-chan was the person on the phone. Only Papa seemed to recognize the voice. The voice sounded so broken and choked. And quiet. Very quiet. Usually Nii-chan spoke rather loudly. We didn't even need to put him on speaker phone for all of us to hear his cheerful voice, but that time, Papa had to silence us all in order to make out Nii-chan's words.

It scared me, really.

When Papa finished talking to Nii-chan, he hung up. Usually we all took turns talking to him, and it'd talk an hour at least, but this time, only Papa talked, and it was over before five minutes had passed. Papa's frown actually looked worse after the call was over, and all he told us was that Nii-chan had just said we didn't have to come to his concert that weekend. We went anyways, and seeing him just made us worry more. His usually bright blonde hair hung dull and limp, and his honey-brown eyes seemed dimmed and swollen, not to mention very red. He had lost weight too. His once fitted suit hung loosely over his almost sickly body.

He usually looked so glamorous and impressive, but that day…

He tried to smile at us, but really, the attempt made us wince. We pretended not to notice how forced his attempt at small talk seemed. I don't know how long he would have tried to keep this up if Yuki-nii hadn't walked up. For some reason, his appearance made Nii-chan hastily make up some excuse and bolt away. I was surprised to even see he had enough energy to run like that. Yuki-nii sighed at Nii-chan's departure, but he smiled at us. His smile was just a little better than Nii-chan's.

Yuki-nii is very nice. He comes to a lot of Nii-chan's concerts with us. Almost as many as Haru-nii. Every time Yuki-nii comes, he brings candy or flowers for me. And he's always really nice when he talks to me. He talks to me like a friend, not like Mommy or Daddy. Sometimes he brings his girlfriend, Machi, with him, but I don't like it when he does because he doesn't talk to me as much when she is here. And he doesn't smile as much. She is nice too, I think, but not as nice as Tohru-oneechan.

Tohru-oneechan comes to Nii-chan's concerts too, and she's always so excited and happy. Nii-chan always plays the best when she's there, but I think she would have been impressed no matter how he played. Nii-chan is always happiest when he finds her after the concert is over. I think Nii-chan has a crush on her! But she has a boyfriend. Kyo-nii. Tohru-oneechan tries to bring him to the concerts, but he's not as friendly as Yuki-nii. He's still nice, but I think he comes to the concerts just for Onee-chan's sake. He doesn't seem very interested in the music, and one time he fell asleep—which made Onee-chan apologize to Nii-chan hundreds of times. After that, Kyo-nii stopped coming as often. I think it might have to do with how Kyo-nii and Nii-chan don't get along very well. They fight every time they see each other, not like Yuki-nii and Kyo-nii—whenever they happen to be at a concert together, it really works Tohru-oneechan up, though I heard their relationship used to be worse. I think Nii-chan and Kyo-nii's fighting is more like teasing. Nii-chan likes to tease Kyo-nii too much, so Kyo-nii gets embarrassed and annoyed, but I think there is some part of their fighting that isn't a joke. Maybe Kyo-nii knows about Nii-chan's crush.

But it's strange—none of them said they'd be available for Nii-chan's next concert next week. What's even more strange is that Nii-chan sounded upset when I told him I tried to invite them and very relieved when he discovered they had all declined. I hope they didn't all have a big fight. Maybe that's why Nii-chan hasn't been happy lately.

It's been a couple of weeks, and still, nothing has gone back to normal yet.

I sighed, holding my book bag a little closer to my chest as I continued down the street towards the Sohma estate. I was only a few blocks away from home when I froze and decided to take a detour. Tohru-neechan was walking across the street with her head slumped. For some reason, I felt that I had to follow her. Part of me was worried about how troubled she seemed, and the other part was curious about what she was doing here. I decided to investigate in hopes I could also figure out some of the mystery with Nii-chan.

I don't think I made a very good spy. I was kind of loud. My feet seemed to land in every pile of trash, snap every twig, and catch on every uneven sidewalk. I had gasped countless times at my near trips, whenever branches snagged my jacket, and whenever some animal snuck up and startled me. I haven't even mentioned the stray dog that decided to bark at me and chase me. That dog made me lose track of Tohru-neechan, but luckily I found her just as she got up from the sidewalk—she had been kneeling—and decided to turn into the forest. Hurrying, I strove to catch up before I lost her again, but the rotten smell of the bushes by the front of the forest made me pause. I had to force myself to keep from gagging as I rushed forward.

I think this is the way to Shigure-oji-san's house. Nii-chan took me there once before since he talked about going there so much. It was many years ago though, just a little after everyone had moved out. We thought it had been fun to play in an empty house. I don't think anyone has moved in yet though, so I wonder why Tohru-neechan is coming here. She must know Shigure-oji-san moved into the main house years ago. Maybe she just remembered that she forgot something at the house from when she lived there a long time ago?

She stopped so suddenly that I almost leapt into sight. We weren't even near the house, but she froze before a small square garden covered with weeds. Muttering something to herself, she dropped down into the muddy grass, not seeming to even care that she was wearing a white skirt. Her hair fell forward over her face, so I couldn't quite tell what her expression was, but judging from the pace of her hands, I think she was pretty worked up. Her hands grasped weeds frantically and started ripping them from the ground. She flung them aside, roots still caked with clumps of dried dirt and all.

I think I should have stopped her. It wore her out. The last weed took her five minutes to yank out, but she wouldn't give up. She looked so weak at the end, panting and sprawled out on the ground with dried leaves in her hair and dirt everywhere. Grass stains and mud coated her clothes, and white spots on her skirt were only visible here and there. I'm not quite sure why she did it, but she seemed somewhat relieved that she did. Somewhat because she was still frowning though she looked calmer. Slowly, she pushed herself back to her knees, and she leant forward over the patch of dirt, digging her fingers into the empty dirt. The soft particles slipped through her fingers, and she stared at the cleared dirt for I don't know how long as the droplets sliding from her face watered the empty garden.

We stayed there for a long time, or I think so, because I fell asleep for a little, but she startled me awake when she climbed to her feet. I think if she was a little less upset, she would have noticed me by now, but she just dusted what she could off her skirt and continued down the path while I tried to make my cramped legs lift me off the ground. Understandably, I had to dash to catch up to her, but somehow, I lost track of her. I kept walking until I reached the abandoned house alone. That is, I thought I was alone.

The creak of an old door made me duck back behind a tree, and it took me a few minutes to calm myself enough to peek back at the house. I found Yuki-nii, pulling a bunch of gardening tools from an old shed beside the house. Relieved and puzzled at finding him there, I decided to follow him too when he passed by me, going in the direction I had just come from. Yuki-nii must be as distracted today as Tohru-nee because I only kept a tree away from him as I followed, and he didn't sense me. I say "sense" because he must have some magic powers. I can never sneak up on him—he always notices me! But here I am, close enough to know those are strawberry seeds in his hands.

I should have guessed that he was heading back to the small garden Tohru-nee had just been at. I was still shocked when he stopped by it, but I couldn't have been more surprised than him.

Yuki-nii dropped the packets of strawberry seeds out of shock at the sight of the cleared garden, and I ran away because my phone started vibrating, but I don't think Yuki-nii noticed. The last time I glanced back, he still hadn't shut his mouth, and his eyes still hadn't returned to their normal size.

**It's May 31st! Of course I would wait 'til the last minute to update "before June"... But I kept my promise at least! Expect next one in 3 weeks-ish. I'll be done with school at that point! :D**

**I didn't realize how similar the Tohru weeding part was to OfAmethystEyes' "Strawberries and Daisies" (which I love, by the way) chapter two until after I wrote it, but I figured it was different enough to be okay since hers serves a much more literal function (I won't be more specific in case you haven't read hers! But feel free to ask me what I mean by this if you are curious) and mine is more figurative AND because gardening/secret base is a key and common part of Yukiru, but of course do tell me if you disagree! You are completely welcome to be like "DUDE THIS IS WAY TOO SIMILAR. COPYING." You can even say "dude." But do comment on other parts you don't like/do like too! :D **

**And do correct my honorific usage with regard to sibling-like figures as I do not speak/study Japanese. **


	10. To Investigate

**Megumi**

It was surprising. Tohru would always stop to talk to me whenever we ran into each other, even though I'm just the younger brother of one of her friends. She was always overly friendly and never scared of me, but today, it was strange. She walked right past me without even a wave. She looked directly at me, but I don't think she saw me. Of course, I don't blame her. She seemed rather distracted and distressed. I had tried to call out to her. She glanced over her shoulder, seemingly unsure of why, but again, she didn't perceive me. I got a few strange looks, but none more than usual. Then, she hurried off, glancing around nervously.

What's more strange was how dirty her clothes were. Tohru came over often enough that I knew how clumsy she was. It wouldn't have been surprising for her to have spilled her food or drink on her clothes or have fallen on the ground. But to have created those deep brown and green stains, she must have fallen repeatedly. And I haven't yet mentioned the scrapes on her knees. I just do hope no one forced her to fall, or they'd have Saki to answer to. And perhaps me as well. Tohru has become like my second sister, after all. But oddly enough, Tohru herself didn't even seem aware of her state or how people stared at her. She has always been rather clueless, but not to this extreme. She didn't even seem to notice that she limped with every step she took, or that her arm trembled when she reached to brush a stray strand of hair behind her ear, or even that her fingers got stuck in the tangled mess.

Tohru's waves seemed off as well, though my skill at reading people's waves is not as good as my sister's. I must consult with Saki later. I probably should tell Saki to ask Tohru whether she needs me to curse anyone for her as well.

After she turned a corner and vanished from my sight, I resumed my journey home. Saki had asked me to buy some more incense and candles. For some reason, we went through those rather quickly.

It didn't take long for me to return home. I slid open the door and removed my shoes carefully before stepping inside to look for Saki. I found her in the kitchen, drying a plate. She turned around as soon as I entered. One look at me and she set the plate onto the drying rack. After placing the towel back on the counter, she walked over. She greeted me briefly before taking the bag from my hand and unpacking it quietly as she waited for me to speak. I sat down at the kitchen table, watching Saki's pale fingers reach into the bag and slowly remove each black candle one by one. The slight tremor to her fingers did not escape my notice. Saki never shakes, but she has been quivering for the past several days, though she has tried to hide her unsteady hands behind wide wispy sleeves.

The tremors are what made me realize something is wrong. With Tohru. Because Tohru is the only one who can evoke such a deep response in Saki. Not even the older man that Saki has been seeing recently, who promised to teach me martial arts, makes her react like this. Tohru's behavior today only confirmed my suspicion. Until today, I had refrained from inquiring into the situation, but I can't ignore this anymore, especially after Saki drops a container of incense. She stares blankly at the pile of spilled incense, splayed across the kitchen floor, as I scoot closer to get her attention. I don't think it's necessary to add, but I will nonetheless, that Saki does not drop things.

"Saki, is something wrong with Tohru?"

She slowly lifted her eyes toward me and took a deep breath before responding, "Tohru… I believe so. Why do you ask?"

"She seemed rather upset today."

"You've seen her today? Where did you see her?"

I barely told her the street I had been on before Saki leapt out of her seat. Perhaps this needs a bit of explanation, but Saki never leaps. She did leap today, however, and almost slipped on the incense she had spilled. Again, to clarify, Saki does not slip. The soft cracks of breaking incense were the only sounds Saki left as she rushed to get a pair of black boots on. I got up in time to catch her just as she stepped out the door. Saki cannot run fast, so it was not too difficult to keep up with her, but this was the fastest she had ever run. It must have been quite the site with the two of us running down the street and Saki's long black cape billowing in the wind.

She stopped suddenly at the corner where Tohru had disappeared and looked around for a minute before pivoting and walking back towards a path in a small forest that we had just past.

"Tohru…" she murmured with her eyes widening.

Then, she started walking briskly down the path with one hand upraised to keep her fluttering hair from blinding her. When a small clearing on the side of the forest began to appear and the trees started to thin, she took off, running faster and faster until we happened upon a person crouched over a small patch of dirt. At the sound of our heavy breathing, the person turned around, revealing the person to be Yuki Sohma with old gardening gloves on, a small shovel in one hand, and an open pack of seeds in the other. The disappointment that crossed Saki's face was unmistakable, but all the signs of emotion that were rare in and of themselves soon faded behind her usual stoic mask.

"Yuki Sohma… What brings you here?" Saki asked, her voice showing no traces of our tiring trek or her grave disappointment.

"I was checking on Hon- my old garden. Are you two looking for something?"

"We believed Tohru was here," I informed him.

"Honda-san? Why would she be—Why are you looking for her? Is something the matter?"

He climbed to his feet immediately, dropping the seeds and the shovel. His quick glance back at the fallen bag of seeds after he said her name did not escape my notice. He seemed overly alarmed about the girlfriend of a cousin he wasn't particularly fond of, though I must take into consideration, I presume, his own friendship with Tohru. I believe they're close, but it's hard to tell, given that they haven't interacted very much in the past half a decade. I do recall Saki telling me a lot about this Yuki Sohma and Tohru when they were in high school, so I will trust in Saki's judgment that Yuki Sohma cares deeply for Tohru. Besides, I have enough to witness myself at the moment that I must concede. He does appear rather ghastly at the possibility that Tohru is in trouble.

It may not appear so, but Saki had been scrutinizing him as closely as I had been, so she responded rather guardedly, "I have reason to believe so."

Yuki Sohma turned away before Saki had even finished speaking, but even with his face averted and his hair preventing me from even seeing the corner of his eye, I could feel his distress, and no, you would not have needed a sixth sense to have noticed. It would have been rather hard to miss the twitch in his fingers as he ripped the gloves from his hands and threw them beside the bag of seeds. A minute passed before he faced us again. His lips were firmly pressed together in a straight line, and his eyes were misty but narrowed, as if he were trying very hard to control what emotion was displayed on his face. Again, he only allowed us a few seconds to study his face before he walked past us until we could only see his back. Then, he turned back and looked at us rather impatiently.

"What are you waiting for? Let's go," he demanded softly but urgently.

"Go?" Saki repeats, but this one word was the only evidence of her confusion.

"To find Tohru. She's not here, and you were looking for her, right?" he questioned in a near whisper, and I could tell his patience was fading.

At this, Saki grasped the bottom of her skirt and started hurrying after him. He began to run, but when he got several feet away and peered over his shoulder and saw how slowly we seemed to have been running, a dismayed expression crossed his face for a few seconds. He soon grudgingly adjusted his pace, however, so he was never more than a few feet ahead of us, though I believe he must have wanted to give anything in order to sprint as fast as he could and see Tohru as soon as he could. It's not that Saki and I weren't trying or weren't as concerned about Tohru; really, that was as fast as we had ever run in our lives.

I believe this run must have been much more interesting than our earlier journey to the garden, especially to those who attended Kaibara high school and knew Yuki Sohma as the school prince and Saki's reputation as a gothic witch.

When we reached Tohru's street, Yuki Sohma, who had been slowing down, rather restlessly, to allow us to keep up with him, seemed to have forgotten about our presence because he sprinted down the last couple of blocks to her house, leaving us by the street sign while he pressed her door bell furiously, or I can only assume that was what he was doing, given that I could hardly make his figure out anymore from this distance.

It was strange. For someone who did not visit Tohru very often, he knew the way to her house perfectly.

Saki and I exerted ourselves and somehow managed to run faster. We were only a house away when Tohru opened her door with a rather frazzled expression across her face. Her hand was outstretched as if to grab him, but he grasped her hand first. While he wildly scanned her quivering frame to make sure she hadn't been harmed, she stared motionlessly at him with wide, unblinking eyes. Tohru hadn't changed out of her sullied outfit yet, but at least, she had dressed the wounds on her knees. His expression was accordingly troubled, but he seemed relieved to find her standing before him, despite how unsteady she seemed to be. I quickly glanced at Saki and found her, as I expected, with a slightly hurt expression, which I might have to explain—Saki had been trying to reach Tohru for several days now and had had no success with calling, sending e-mails, or ringing her doorbell, yet, there she was, standing before Yuki Sohma, clasping his hands desperately.

"Honda-san, are you okay?"  
"Y-Yuki-kun! I need to talk to you—Hana-chan! Megumi-kun! What are you doing here?"

We had cut across her lawn and were standing a few steps away from her porch. Moments before, Saki had turned away as if to leave before Tohru noticed us, but we acted too late. At the sound of Tohru calling us, Saki slowly turned back around and faced Tohru, not quite smiling. I believe it took too much energy for Saki to conceal her own anguish, but Saki managed to speak steadily, despite the glimmers of horror embedded in Tohru's brown eyes at our presence.

"We were worried. We haven't heard from you. Megumi saw you earlier and informed me that you didn't seem well," Saki replied slowly.

Tohru looked down, ashamed, and seeing her hands wrapped around Yuki Sohma's, she gently slid them out from his fingers, clenching her skirt as a substitute. She avoided his confused gaze and his outstretched hand that he hadn't retracted yet. Instead, she addressed us with a small feeble smile.

"I'm sorry, Hana-chan, Megumi-kun. I didn't mean to make you worry."

"No. Don't apologize, Tohru. We're just glad you seem to be well. Since you want to talk to Yuki Sohma, we'll be on our way then. Come along, Megumi…"

"No! Wait! Hana-chan! Megumi-kun! Please come inside too. I'd love to see you all," she assured us.

Despite how she stepped off the porch and took our hands in hers and tugged us inside, she didn't look or sound like she wanted us to intrude on what she must have presumed to be a solitary visit from Yuki Sohma. Yuki Sohma hesitated uneasily on the porch before following us inside after she, noticing that he hadn't entered with us, looked back at him. Regardless of all of our uncertainty, Tohru was so insistent that the four of us were soon seated around a small table in her living room with cups of tea, trying to converse about weather, work, and school. The small talk was mostly sustained due to Yuki Sohma's efforts since Saki and I were too absorbed with studying them and Tohru seemed too distraught to do much else beside smile and nod.

"Where's Kyo?" Yuki Sohma suddenly asked, looking around the room.

Tohru looked down at her cup before responding quietly, "I don't know…"

Yuki Sohma lowered his eyes at her response, hiding what I believe to be a guilty expression. I didn't think the tension could get any thicker, but somehow, it managed to after that question. It was almost unbearable, but it didn't compel Tohru to look up at Yuki Sohma at all. We could all see her trembling and the tea sloshing in her cup that she held with her shaky fingers. We could all see how sweat made her bangs cling to her forehead, despite the chilliness of the room. We could all see how she kept sneaking partial glances in Yuki Sohma's direction that never made it to his face and how she kept shutting her agape mouth before any words came out. But none of us commented on these observations. We were afraid if we did, the tears she was trying so hard to hide would erupt forth. So a tense silence resettled amongst us, only interrupted by a phone ringing that made Yuki Sohma start.

As he scrounged around his pocket for his phone, he looked up at Tohru, as if for permission to take the call. She nodded once, and he retreated to the kitchen, listlessly, unable to take two steps forward without a glance back at Tohru, and she trembled more as he took the call. It seemed rather unnecessary for him to have left the room, as the silence allowed us to hear enough to understand that his work had called about an emergency that required him to report to the office immediately. He tried to get out of it, of course, trying to explain that his _friend_ was experiencing a personal dilemma and how he didn't feel that he could leave her alone at the moment, but his attempts proved unsuccessful. He ended the call with a vague response about when he'd arrive.

Yuki Sohma returned to the room frowning, but Tohru smiled cheerfully at him (but I use the word "cheerfully" with some reservations as she didn't really seem _cheerful,_ but I believe that was the emotion she was trying to muster).

"Go. There's nothing wrong with me. Really. I don't know why you're all so worried about me. I'm fine," Tohru assured him.

"Are you sure? They can manage without me—"

"I'm sure. Go. Work is more important."

Judging by his furrowed eyebrows, Yuki Sohma didn't quite agree with her last statement, but seeing as Saki and I were still there to keep Tohru company, he left reluctantly. Really, he had no other choice. Tohru had essentially forced him out, gently pushing, prodding, and reassuring him as she led him to the door, though her eyes protested vehemently. He must have detected the almost violent agitation through her poor mask of tranquility, but he melted helplessly against her caress and let her guide him out the door and bid him farewell. After Tohru had shut the door, she leaned against the door and slid down until she collapsed on the floor. She had buried her head in her arms folded across her knees and let out half a sob before she remembered that we were still there, seated at her table. I've never seen anyone jump to their feet so quickly. She stood, swiping at her eyes roughly with her back towards us, thinking we wouldn't be able to tell, but we caught each frantic thrust of her elbow with each swipe.

Then she made her way over to us with the edges of her mouth forcefully shoved upwards, rambling about things we couldn't quite understand and refilling our tea so fervently that the tea spilled over in puddles that collected around the base of our cups, but she didn't notice. Tohru almost poured tea into the small potted plant at the center of the table, but she managed to stop herself right after a single drop landed on the soil. She tried to laugh it off so determinedly that we tried to smile with her. We tried to talk to her, though, I must confess, I'm not sure what she was trying to talk to us about. Truthfully, I'm rather surprised we managed to keep the conversation up for as long as we did, though I don't think she noticed the senselessness of our conversation or how her smile kept faltering.

Tohru seemed so miserable after Yuki Sohma left that we offered to leave first. She tried to weakly protest against our departure, but we both knew she would rather be alone. She couldn't quite manage to smile as we said our goodbyes and again seemed ignorant to Saki's concern. Saki may seem like a person who would be continuously surrounded with a gloomy aura, but this is the first time I've seen her with such a desolate atmosphere since she met Tohru.

As we stepped onto the sidewalk, we could see Yuki Sohma's back a few blocks away, though he had supposedly left half an hour ago. Saki and I were not surprised to see him still there though. We had both sensed him lingering outside Tohru's door, raising his hand to ring the door bell periodically, but he lowered it every time until he decided to leave a few minutes ago. We could also sense Tohru lingering by the window. We could see her hand clenching the edge of a lacy curtain, lifting it just an inch to peer outside and feel the disappointment at his absence.

**I know I told some of you that I would update at the end of the week last week, but I got lazy :cc Forgive me! Next chapter will be in less than 3 weeks! I was actually debating about the order of this chapter and the next two, so after those two get posted, I'll need your opinion! Meanwhile, tell me what you think about this chapter and fix my mistakes! This chapter originally was much shorter and focused more on Saki and Megumi's concerns, but I thought I should give you guys more of a glimpse at how Yuki and Tohru are doing! And let them speak to each other. **


	11. To Examine

**Makoto (former student council president) **

I hadn't thought about him in a while, but every so often, when a girl's skirt flutters a certain way, it reminds me of a certain image I have to thank Hatsuharu Sohma for. I saw one of those skirts today. It was a long blue skirt that reminded me a lot of the female school uniform for Kaibara High School, but much longer of course. I hadn't realized I had been staring until the woman with the shoulder length brown hair spun around with her hand raised as if to slap me, but she froze and her expression melted into a mixture of confusion and surprise when she saw me and my arms extended in front of me in a defensive pose.

"President Takei? What are you doing here?"

"Huh?"

Lowering my arms from my face and forcing open my eyes that I had squeezed shut out of fear, I realized that Machi Kuragi stood before me with a plastic basket full of groceries hanging on her arm. I hadn't seen Machi since I had graduated from Kaibara high school after having selected her to be the new treasurer of the student council. I had only been in contact with her on a few occasions since then, mainly during Yuki's last year of high school when I came back a few times to try to catch a glimpse of Yuki under the guise of checking on the student council—though if you must know, those attempts were never very successful, and I stopped going shortly before Yuki graduated after hearing that Yuki and Machi had started dating from Kimi. Kimi wasn't really trying to inform me in particular. She and Kakeru were gossiping about the couple rather loudly when I happened to near the student council room, and I didn't dare enter after that point.

I don't hate Machi for that though. I think I wasted enough energy during my high school years being jealous of Tohru Honda for being so close to Yuki when I could hardly even talk to him about succeeding me as school president. I believe his decision to succeed me as president had something to do with her after all since he had expressed minimal interest in the position prior to suddenly declaring his intent to succeed me that one day. Besides, it was easier to hate Tohru Honda. She befriended all the delinquents of the school and supported all those incidents of rule-breaking, even having the gall to defend Momiji Sohma when he clearly was wearing the wrong uniform. If I hated Machi, I could only blame myself for orchestrating their relationship. It was I, after all, who had made her treasurer, partly to spite the Yuki Fan Club, who never let me join their club just because of my gender, and Tohru Honda.

If I had to let Yuki be with a woman, it wouldn't be with one of those bimbos anyways. She'd have to be able to hold her own ground and be on par with Yuki Sohma intellectually. Tohru Honda and those fan club girls would never have met my criteria. At least Machi does well in school and has successfully served in the student council. A woman needs to meet these requirements at least. I won't discuss looks since I have yet to find someone who nears Yuki's perfection. If Tohru Honda thinks she can make Yuki happy, she's wrong. Yuki does not need a clueless ditz to weigh him down.

I smile at Machi. She has become like a little sister to me over the years.

"You don't have to call me president anymore. I mean I still am a president! In a way anyways. I am the principal at a junior high school."

"What are you doing here, President Takei?" she asks, as if she hadn't even listened to my previous statement.

Glancing around, I realized I was in a small grocery store with nothing in my arms. I must have accidentally walked in after seeing her skirt. I guess I must have looked rather surprised at the location even though Machi didn't show any response. I don't often go to the grocery store. I live by myself and am not particularly fond of household chores, so cooking is not an activity I waste my time and energy on often. Women are rather useful in that respect, but anyways, it must have been fate that lured me in to meet Machi.

"To buy something, of course," I said with half a laugh and grabbed the nearest box on the shelf next to me, which unfortunately turned out to be a pregnancy test.

Luckily, she didn't question my purchase choice, though she did give me a strange look with her eyebrow quirked steeply, so I quickly tucked the box under my arm and changed the topic, asking, "What are you doing here, Kuragi-san?"

"I'm buying groceries. It's going to be my five year anniversary with Yuki in a few days, and I want to make a nice dinner for him."

"Right. You and Yuki are dating. You two are still together after so long?"

"I think so."

"You think so? What do you mean by that?"

She looked down at the groceries in her basket instead of responding. I noticed two boxes of frozen dinners hidden at the bottom of the basket under the boxes of dried noodles and produce. She seemed a little upset by my questions, so I changed the topic, which seemed to relieve her.

"Never mind. Let's get lunch together. We haven't seen each other since high school after all."

She nodded her acquiescence, so we soon headed over to the checkout lines and made our purchases accordingly. She quickly slid the frozen dinners to the front of the conveyer belt, as if she didn't want anyone to see, burying them behind the other ingredients she bought. The cashier gave Machi a small smile when she scanned the frozen dinners, and she only smiled more when she finished checking Machi out and scanned the pregnancy test I was holding. She winked at me when I finished paying, looking between Machi and I knowingly. Machi didn't seem to notice, but I had never felt as scandalized as I did in that moment.

To think! That woman thought Machi and I were a couple! And a couple in such a scandalous situation!

I think I started screaming and denying her implications rather vehemently. I imagine I must have been rather red-faced and shaking as I jumped back in front of her and started waving my arms around wildly, spitting as I yelled. The cashier was white with shock and probably a tad of fear, and Machi was red with embarrassment as she dragged me out by the back of my collar.

But that is all what I imagined happened because I blacked out after that wink. The next thing I knew I found myself seated across from Machi at a small table by the window in the small café next to the grocery store. The waitress was standing next to our table at this point, tapping her pen on her little spiral notepad and looking at me with rolled eyes. That's when I realized I had an upside down and slightly crumpled menu grasped tightly in my hands. I laughed to myself and quickly made a random order, smiling sheepishly. After I ordered, I noticed Machi kept sighing and staring at her phone that she had laid on top of the table.

"Do you need to go somewhere? You don't have to stay," I assured her.

"No."

"I understand if you have a date later and need to get ready. Don't feel obligated to stay—"

"No. I said _no_. Yuki is out today."

"He makes you do the grocery shopping alone while he is out then? Where did he go?"

"To visit his family and stop by his old home."

I nodded, a bit puzzled by her aloofness. We weren't close friends or anything, but I thought we had established at least an intimate enough relationship that she would trust me, though we never talked much, and when we did talk in the past, it was never about personal topics. We only really ever talked about things related to school and the student council, but I thought after not seeing each other for several years, we'd at least have enough casual small talk to sustain a small conversation, but really, she did not seem the least bit invested in my efforts to establish a semblance of conversation. Really, she made me sweat. She sat there as if I wasn't even there. She not only contributed almost nothing to our _conversation_, but she also barely bothered to look up at me.

"Are you okay, Kuragi-san? You seem a little upset?"

"I'm fine. How many times do I have to tell you?"

She had started ripping the napkin she had been clenching in her fist, tearing long strips from the pure white sheet and crumpling them up into tiny jagged balls.

"Did you and Yuki have a fight?"

"_No._ We are _fine_. Nothing is wrong."

I wasn't really convinced by her response and was going to ask her more about it, but she seemed distracted, looking out the window with the crease between her eyebrows deepening as her eyes narrowed in agitation. I spun around in my chair to look out the window. Squinting and pushing my glasses up further on the bridge of my nose, I scanned the busy sidewalk that ran in front of the café. It was hard to spot the cause for Machi's irritation, but I spotted _her_ amongst the crowds strolling along the sidewalk. Tohru Honda was stumbling along the sidewalk, as if she had had too much to drink, while gripping a plastic white bag in her hands.

Tohru Honda was a mess. She wasn't just frazzled by the wind, like the other women. Even from where I sat, several feet away from her, I could see that there were a few leaves trapped in her tangled hair. Her clothes were in a similar state. I think her green and brown skirt used to be white. I haven't mentioned the blood dripping down her legs from the abrasions on her kneecaps. I'm not sure how I didn't notice her immediately. Everyone outside and even those in the café had turned to stare at her, not that she noticed at all. She just continued to wobble ahead, keeping her face downcast and her eyes on the plastic bag in her hands, and she kept clenching the bag tighter and tighter. Everyone stepped aside on the sidewalk to let her pass while they watched her go, and I watched too, until she disappeared after a group of men in suits obscured her from my view.

A crash as glass shattered brought my attention back to the café.

I noticed that all Machi's tiny scraps of napkin were scattered along the floor and that the glass of water that had been sitting in front of her was missing. She was currently kneeling on the floor, picking up fragments of broken glass from a small puddle of water as two waitresses rushed over, one carrying a broom and the other a mop. Machi gently set the shards of glass she had collected into the dustpan one of the waitresses held out and then sat back in her seat, completely apathetic and without any explanation. The waitresses didn't say anything either—they simply cleaned up the mess and then went to retrieve our food along with another glass of water. I didn't dare bring it up and just smiled at her.

Our meal passed rather quietly. She didn't seem to be in the mood to talk, and the only topics I could think to talk about were the prior incident and her relationship with Yuki. When I tried to broach those topics earlier, she had glared at me, so we ate in silence until I heard the clatter of her fork and knife as she dropped them on the plate. Once again she stared at the window with her eyes wide and her eyebrows furrowed with shock and chagrin. Slowly, I turned around and glanced out the window. I immediately knew what had drawn her attention. You couldn't miss the school prince with the two creepy gothic siblings running down the street. I cautiously slid around in my chair to face Machi again.

When I looked up at her, she was standing with both her palms flat on the table. Her chair lay on the floor, with the legs facing the ceiling.

"Where—Where did you say Yuki went today again?" I asked cautiously, a little nervous but very curious.

"To visit his family…"

**I'm sorry for all the obscure characters and slowness of the plot. I swear, more well-known characters are coming up soon, and the plot will quickly quicken! c: I also apologize for the lateness of the post. I originally intended to post over 10 days ago, but I got busy/lazy. So now I will give you a more specific date so I can't delay! Next chapter by August 10th! Please tell me what you think! **


	12. To Interrogate

**Minami  
**

I was in the convenience store, grabbing a gallon of milk, when I saw her. I hadn't seen her in years. Probably not since we graduated high school. I had hoped she had died in some horrible accident or had become horridly disfigured by some disease, not that she had much looks to be ruined in the first place, but here she was, standing in the aisle I had just passed, too absorbed in the small rectangular box in her hands to even notice me.

She hadn't changed at all since high school. Maybe her hair was a little shorter, but her hair was still tied back with an old, cream-colored ribbon. She looked a little less bubbly than she did before. Actually, she looked rather ill. As if she hadn't slept or eaten for days. Purple smudges framed the bottom of her eyes, and she looked frailer than she had in high school. She didn't even seem like she had groomed herself before stepping out today. Her clothes were wrinkled and stained, as if she had worn them longer than she should have. She had never been what you call fashionable—I could tell even though I had really only seen her in her uniform. But she had always been clean. Really, it looked as though she had only bothered to sweep her tangled hair up into a loose pony-tail held together by that tattered ribbon that was as pale as her face.

Had all my years of bitter cursing really been that effective?

I'm surprised I recognized her actually, but it's hard to miss those wide eyes that made everyone love her. Well… almost everyone.

I don't want to make it sound as if I still hold an all-consuming bitter hatred for her after half a decade. I'm not pitifully pathetic. I've grown over that crush on Yuki Sohma, though I must still confess that I have yet to see a man as handsome and charming as him, but that doesn't mean I haven't dated anyone. I've had a number of boyfriends over the years—in fact, I'm dating a rather decent guy now. I'm not the type to wallow in self-pity for losing a boy, even to someone like Machi, who's hardly pretty. Better her than Tohru Honda, but as I've been trying to say, I don't hate Tohru Honda anymore.

I guess there wasn't much of a reason for me to have hated Tohru Honda in the first place. It's not like she ended up with Yuki Sohma or even dated him or anything. I mean she did end up with that Yuki's hot-headed cousin, who would have been quite the catch if he had had a better temper. But I shouldn't really resent her for having been friends with a boy I had had a passionate crush on years ago. Even if she had liked him, I can't blame her for that. Most girls in our high school did, and I had been friends with all my competitors in the fan club. Tohru Honda just had the gall to make him befriend her and smile at her. Maybe we all hated her for having the audacity to treat him like a normal person.

Anyways, Tohru Honda was just Yuki Sohma's friend. And not that close of one. As far as I've heard, they haven't kept in contact much after high school even though she's still dating his cousin (How do I know this? The girls from the fan club still like to keep a few tabs on Yuki.). Some friendship.

This doesn't mean I like Tohru Honda though. I don't, and I never will like Tohru Honda. I can't stand that fake innocence of hers. No one can be that naïve. No one is that innocent and selfless. There must be reasons behind her behavior. It's some deception hiding some underlying motives. I just haven't figured out what they are yet, but Yuki Sohma must have to have cut her off like that after _so_ many years of _friendship_. Maybe he'd cut off another girl soon enough too. Not that I'm still pining after him or anything. It's just disturbing to see such a superior man with an average woman, even though I guess I must be considered rather average in comparison too.

For some reason, I decided to march over, with the cold container dangling from my fingers. Tohru Honda still didn't look up from her intense study of the box she held in her shaky hands. Actually, she seemed rather oblivious to everything around her. She hadn't even noticed the loud screech on the intercom asking for some poor worker to clean up a mess in aisle thirteen, even though the announcement had made everyone else in the store flinch. She just continued to stare at the fine print on the box. I don't think she was even reading the text. She just stared.

"Honda-san!" I exclaimed.

She jumped a good five inches off the ground at the sound of my voice, tossing the box out of her hands. It flew over my head and landed behind me with a thud that made her cringe. Her face flared a bright red as I turned around and picked up the pink box. I flipped it over slowly and realized it was a pregnancy test. Looking up, I smirked, noticing the items that surround us in the aisle. Contraceptives and twenty kinds of pregnancy tests. She looked horrified as I held the box towards her and made no move to take the box back from me. Her hands were frozen, still bent to hold a box that was no longer there. With a smug satisfaction, I noticed her left ring finger was bare.

See? Not that innocent after all.

With a little shove, I forced the box back into her hands, and her fingers barely reacted quickly enough to clasp the box before it fell.

"What's this for, Honda-san?"

She trembled.

"And you're not even married. Poor thing."

She dropped the box again.

"Who's the father?"

She ran out of the store.

**I said predictable! And of course, I take the longest possible time to update. Next one will be around the end of August, before September! And no more slowness. Next chapter is finally a better known character! Actually a zodiac member! c: Yayy. Do tell me what you think! No more fangirls after this. **


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